Georgia Walsh
by PeachHart
Summary: Georgia Walsh created the ideal new life for herself back in Boston. It takes the zombie apocalypse to drag her back down to the family and friends she'd long left behind. Series Canon: perspective of Shane's sass-pants younger sister. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1: Moments

Chapter 1: Moments

All I remember about this period of time is broken down into these distinct moments; they converge and crash together, nothing but the most benign details surface amongst the haze. I think it's possible my brain is protecting me from fully comprehending or really feeling what happened.

The first moment, feels like I'm watching someone else's life when I recall it. It fits snugly into a stereotypical opening scene. I was finishing the sutures on a kid's rather gnarly skateboarding mishap. 7 stitches! He was telling me all about the trick he'd almost landed, his entire summer's work, and asked how soon he'd be back on the board. I chuckled at the kid's enthusiasm as Carla barged into the exam room. This should've been the first indication something was amiss, Carla the consummate professional, forgoing common courtesy.

"Dr Walsh, didn't you get my page?" she panted and fought to regain her composure.

"Just a minute, Carla, last little suture-" I was carefully tying my final knot, a little annoyed with her distraction mid-treatment. It was mere scutwork and didn't require half the attention of a full blown procedure but the kid didn't deserve a startled surgeon scarring him for life. I'll remember that phrase when and if I ultimately pluck up the courage to confront her with this later; he could be scarred for LIFE, Carla, life!

"Dr Walsh, there's an urgent phone call for you, at the nurse's station. It's very important." as i finished the last knot and turned to Carla; I registered the depth her face had fallen, her face had dropped as far as a face physically can. Try saying that three times fast I chuckled internally.

"I'll just be a moment." I raised a wary brow and returned to my patient.

"I'll dress that for you." She went as far as to take the instruments out of my hand and set the tray down on the side. I exchanged a look with the kid and departed. That amounted to the second indication something was amiss, she made a point of avoiding eye contact as I left.

This was the final moment of my old life. I can appreciate the simplicity of it now, walking down those beige glossy halls, pulling my fringe off my face, it was perfectly average. I'd completed my preliminary intern year at Boston General Hospital and was finally finding my feet. Of course I lived and breathed medicine, my apartment was a complete and utter mess, I was definitely down to my final pair of clean underwear, I couldn't commit any time to a partner and all of my friends were medical staff but still, I was doing what I loved. I'd found my place. I think I was happy.

"Hello, Dr Walsh." I wedged the phone between my shoulder and ear, to finish up the kid's chart. I was quietly thankful for the slow day; I'd never been caught up on paperwork before. It was oddly freeing.

"Am I speaking with a Miss Georgia Rose Walsh?" the unfamiliar voice enquired incorrectly.

"You're speaking to Dr Georgia Walsh." I sighed and paused momentarily to pluck at a mascara-laden eyelash that was literally rubbing me the wrong way. I mentally bargained with it to behave, in exchange for never making an effort for work again, emphasis on the mental part. I appealed to its reasonable side, beautiful Matt was supposed to be working this shift, though our paths had yet to cross, fate is a cruel temptress. Dr Matthew "call me Matt" Merriweather was the Attending Neurosurgeon and he was horrendously good-looking. He was a gift from the good lord and a couple of light years out of anyone's league. My daydreams rested heavily on a number of Grey's Anatomy style rendezvous' with Call Me Matt in the on call rooms but they sadly never materialised. But, I digress.

"My name is Dr Matthews; I'm calling from Ridgeland Memorial Hospital." The voice was heavy and burdened. A little flitter at the glorious-one's name plummeted at the disappointing surname usage, followed by a bottom-out thud at the hospital's name. Ridgeland was the next county over from Kings; their hospital was better equipped and funded than the woeful King County alternative. Who would be bothering me from there? Oh god, what if Shane had been injured on duty? No, Rick would've called; he'd have been there too…Hadn't heard anything about Jesse in a while…

"I'm so sorry to inform you, Miss Walsh, at 2:15pm this afternoon a Miss Olivia Hart passed away due to unforeseeable complications of-" My heart stopped cold at her name.

I stopped mid-scribble; the pen fell from my fingertips. "I'm sorry? What did you just say?" Olivia…had died?!

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss Walsh, and I know you'll be requiring time to process, to grieve but-" Dr Matthews cycled through the standard informing procedure, he droned through each article like the checklist was gripped before him.

"Complications of what? What surgery? She never told me she was having surgery! What was it for?" My words were accompanied by a scoff of disbelief. It was preposterous.

"I'm sorry I cannot disclose any information regarding the patient's condition over the phone. I must pass you on to Social Services now, again Miss Walsh you have my sincere condolences." And with that the messenger fled the line.

"You're joking?!" I squeaked sceptically and slammed my hand on the desk.

"Hello, Miss Welsh?" A feeble voice came on the line after a few drawn out seconds.

"Dr Walsh. What the hell is going on?" I flattened my voice, attempting discretion.

"My name is Bran-"

"I don't give a damn what your name is!" The infamous Walsh tone erupted from the bottom of my lungs. I was clawing for context. I was desperately piecing together the absurd information they were delicately imparting.

"Ma'am, I understand this is a trying time but please hear me out, Olivia Hart's documentation places a Miss Georgia Walsh as the godmother of her surviving two children; an Ethan Hart and a-"

"I know the kids names." I shot the man down point blank.

"We haven't been able to reach the father of the children."

"Yeah, you won't." I scoffed "That idiot's in jail. Please, just tell me. What the hell happened to her?!" I was growing increasingly frustrated.

"I think it best you get down here as soon as possible; there are a number of arrangements to discuss. The children will be placed in temporary care until you so arrive."

"God dammit, I'm coming!" I slammed the phone down with a trembling rage.

Carla had already spoken with the Chief, she swiftly ordered me to leave and I did not need to be told twice. My brain couldn't process any of this. This was a joke? My systematic medicine-graduate brain was steaming through every possibility. She is a healthy, 31 year old, who goes for runs every morning. She doesn't just die?! My best friend can't just…die?!

I flicked through my phone the second I got to my locker.

6 Missed Calls

The short novel of texts played through the story. She was out for her run, just like every morning, post-dropping the kids off at school. She'd taken the back roads, past the fire station just in time for their practice drills. A homeless-looking man seemed to be distressed, she asked if he needed help as he stumbled towards her. He went psycho and attacked her, biting her! Must have been some crazed drug-addict, but how did this…How did it come to this?

I didn't give the price of the last-minute flight a second thought. Of course, King County is in the arse end of nowhere so I didn't arrive until the early hours of the following morning. I stormed straight to the hospital but my efforts to obtain the medical documents to understand what had happened, and mostly to really make it real, were defeated time and time again. My eyes still darted around the room, waiting for the cruel joke to come to an abrupt end, she'd pop out from behind a curtain, she was punishing me for being so busy at work, I'd never had time to come home.

She never emerged.

I was fobbed off with promises to send out the autopsy report once formalities were carried out. I, after all, was not a blood relation; she was only the divorced wife of my eldest brother. Only, I cried out at the horrendous word choice. Some further bullshit about confidentiality, delays due to understaffing and increased admittance, some further explicit use of colourful language. A horrible conversation regarding legal guardianship of the now essentially orphaned children later and my brother appeared.

I hadn't seen the guy in over a year. What a happy occasion for our reunion. He didn't say anything. He's always been terrible with words. What could those gifted with words even say? He merely held me and released the futile phrase I'd so often repeated to bereaved families in many a-waiting room: I'm so sorry.

"I, uh, I gotta tell you something. I shoulda said before but-"

"Spit it out, Shane, might as well get everything out on the worst day of my life."

He proceeded to tell me about Rick and I instantly regretted my inflated statement. I never knew it possible, but yes, a shattered heart can break further, and unfortunately, this was only the beginning.

The children were picked up from a temporary foster home. It was a beautiful old Georgian townhouse; the windows had those adorable flower boxes accentuating their quaintness. Kind, empty words floated around the air. Shane thanked the couple. I told the children privately the crushing news in the foster family's living room. We held each other for a long time before Shane piped up that we'd be happier at their home. Happier…that seemed like such an alien term in that moment but we dragged ourselves to their empty home and slept in the spare room together, all bundled into the one bed. Days passed. We were lifeless, switching between crying our hearts out, eating dry cereal and reliving every memory of this old house. Our cries were occasionally stunted with the lighter memories. I kept the kids off school for the entire week. It was my first executive guardianship decision.


	2. Chapter 2: Escalation

The funeral swept around and passed us by. Lori was the only Grimes in attendance. She apologised for not telling me about Rick sooner. She actually apologised to me. I hadn't seen the woman in months, due purely to my unforgiving career choice and she was apologising for not informing me her husband was in a coma. We consoled each other and exchanged promises to help out any way we could.

The papers were signed. The procedures were carried out. Life was to move on, albeit with a horrendous Olivia-shaped hole in it. I had no time to even begin processing the fact our lives had crashed down around us. I had lost my best friend, my dream job in Boston, but these children had lost their mother. I knew all too well how that felt. But I was all they had left now; a deadbeat dad doing 5 years inside and me…a barely-together career-driven mess…their legal guardian. So I didn't permit myself to fall to pieces.

Nice, in theory, but Shane put an abrupt end to the idea in his accustomed ham-fisted fashion.

My mind was still glazed over, I wasn't entirely…there. Truth be told, I was numb, seamlessly trudging from task to task. I was mid-clearing away the dishes when Shane chapped on the back door and stepped into the kitchen.

"Are the kids at school?" he drawled and removed his hat.

I made a non-committal noise, evidently not at an adequate decibel.

"Georgia?" he upped the volume.

"It's, uh, their first day back." I shook my head into action. Look alive, Walsh.

"Dr Brenner came to see me today. He asked you to take mom's place at the practice?"

"Yeah, he asked."

"You gonna?"

I wiped down the counter-space in front of me, leant against the work top and sighed.

"Eventually, yeah, I'll have to. It ain't like I got a choice." I brought myself to look at him. Shane was just shy of 10 years older than me, he'd always fancied himself as my protector, a role I'd never assigned him, he'd taken it upon himself to fill the shoddy shoes of our father and often absent older brother. Petty childish feelings flooded back as he proceeded to boss me about.

"Look, I know this ain't how you planned-" he started his piece.

"No. My best friend dying from some bullshit infection, playing mom to our beloved felon's kids and being dragged back to this backwater town was NOT part of the plan." My eyes welled up around the words but my tone remained clear and cold.

"You made yer feelings perfectly clear about us last time you left town, look, let's not! It's getting real old, George." A heat was sparking in his rebuttals, I'd hit a nerve…or two. I relished it.

"Pfft, had shit all to do with you, you know that." I dismissed him.

"Sure as shit, you think you're better than yer roots! Strut about all high and mighty, looking down on us in the dirt!" He barked back.

"Bullshit! Higher than what? Abandoning my family? Abusive asshole? Drinking myself to death? Dealing arms? Armed-fucking-robbery? Did I miss anything from the Walsh family rap list, officer?" A number of years' worth of bile was erupting from my heart. None of this was Shane's fault, but his shitty loyalist attitude was in my line of fire.

"Abandoning your family. Spot on." He uttered and folded his arms harshly.

"That's what you got from that?!" I spread my arms out open, help me out here, brother.

"You didn't just leave them behind, George, in their hour of need." His hollers returned to a level that no longer incited the neighbour's worries.

"I was drowning here, Shane, it is too damn hard being here." I began to waive and falter.

"You wouldn't know anything about that." He scorned "You weren't the one who had to hold the fort whilst he-"

"Ha! Please! You think you're the bigger person for sticking by that asshole's side to the bitter end? He didn't deserve anyone by his deathbed."

"No, he did not. Your mom's half of that practice doesn't deserve gathering dust neither!"

"You freakin' take it. This ain't the time for digging up old shit; I'm tired of this, just the same old goddamn shit."

"You know I'm broken about Livy, but you've got to get it together! This is the hand we've been dealt and you ain't the only one who's hurtin'!" He threw the dishcloth at the floor.

I jumped at his outburst and threw my hands down in defeat. "Shane, I'm sorry." We cried together. I'd been so wrapped up in my own grief; I'd neglected his. "He's gonna pull through."

The last morning of this new life started just like any other. It's interesting looking back on it now, oh how I believed nothing could be worse. I'd fallen into a rather predictable sleepy routine in King County. I'd wake up at 5:30am to a legitimate cockerel alarm clock, shuffle and rummage about, wake up the kids and make sure Ethan was mobile before leaving for the day. I'd stop by Maddie's Bakery for my morning coffee and amble up to the office at 6:55am. I'd barge straight past Dr Brenner who'd utter something about professionalism and townies before preparing my cases for the day.

This morning was initially only marred by a message from Ridgeland County Jail, due to an undisclosed matter, my brother had lost his visitor privileges for another week, I'd have to wait another fortnight to finally see him and recount the last few weeks once more. I didn't grumble about it too much, I hadn't seen Jesse in…well since right before I'd left for Boston, I must've been just shy of 17. I had been back to King County every now and then but my visit's had repeatedly coincided with his trips to the big house. My father and Jesse were cut from the same cloth, in a multitude of sins. He'd be approaching 40 now…and wouldn't emerge from prison until he was at least 45. His kids would be fully grown by then, such a selfish asshole, they were honestly better off without him; I shook the thoughts from my mind.

The perfectly ordinary beginning to my morning was completely shattered mere moments after I'd stepped out of the house.

"Doctor Walsh?" Hattie spluttered all over the pathway.

My eyeballs were still adjusting to the morning Georgia sun as I peered out from under my sunglasses; they were not best pleased at conversation pre-coffee consumption. She was red from running and hunched over.

"Hattie?" I muttered as my empty stomach flipped at the startling similarities between this moment and the final moment of my old life.

"Doctor Walsh, you'd better come quick, the office is boarded up. Doctor Brenner left this on the door; he must've done it last night. But, there's a whole big crowd and they're getting real antsy." Hattie huffed and handed over a piece of official office stationary.

 _"FAO Dr Walsh: My family and I are heading to Florida indefinitely. Feel free to continue business as usual, though I highly recommend you do not. There is nothing in this office that could possibly help these people. Best wishes, Dr Brenner."_

"Well shit." I crumpled up the note and started towards the office.

This was the moment I knew; this was the end of one nightmare and the beginning of a much more horrendous one. The office was ransacked, to put it lightly, that morning. A trashcan was thrown through the big bay window and the usually tranquil King County became a distant memory. I'd tried to call 911 first, to no avail. I'd tried my brother, as he heard the gunshots on my end, he hollered to get back to the house and keep everyone inside until he arrived.

Luckily, the kids hadn't left for school by the time I'd sprinted home; they were only just beginning to greet the day.

I slammed the front door shut and paced the living room, back and forth, mobile in hand. I patted the cool back of the phone in the palm of my hand. Rhythmically; I focussed on the repetition, pat, pat, pat. What do I do? What is going on? A million questions and thoughts raced through my mind. None of them came to a sensible conclusion. But that was okay, Shane was going to call. He had to call. Any second now, Shane would call.

"Georgia? Can we have these peanuts?" Ethan took a break from flicking through the television stations to derail my warp-speed panic-thought-train. He was pointing at a glass bowl half-filled with questionable nuts. They'd been there since before I'd been here.

"Huh?" I fell out of my daze. "Oh, um, no, let's get rid of those. I'll make some actual food, after Shane calls, okay? It'll just be a little while, can you please check on Hannah?"

Ethan sighed and made his way to the bathroom after his questions regarding my speedy return home were flatly dismissed. I'd taken up sentry position at the front window, scouring the street for the first signs of my brother.

I could hear my niece and nephew squabble the second Ethan left the living room but couldn't distinguish the topic. Not that they ever really needed a topic of greater importance than "you're breathing too loud! Get out of my bubble!" In any other situation I would have chuckled at the parallels between Olivia's kids and my own sibling rivalries. But my brain was a little preoccupied to take a merry trip down memory lane.

I glanced over at the clock, 7:42am. It was earlier than I'd thought. Time was passing at an excruciating pace. My phone vibrated and kicked into life; the shock almost caused me to drop it.

"GEORGIA!" I heard Lori shout down the line as I slid down the wall and settled underneath the window frame. This felt like a moment one should sit down. "Oh my god, I've been trying to reach you for an hour now! Oh thank god, are the kids okay? Are you all okay?"

I started to well up. "Lori, we're okay. Are you? You got Carl?"

"Yes! What the hell happened out there? Shane's here. You're back at the house?"

"We're here."

The phone line went dead. I looked at the screen, in pure disbelief.

"Wha…? Lori?" My signal bar was empty and had a massive red X plastered across it. My eyes burned into that X, determined that willpower alone would reconnect the call. That's all I get? All I get is abrupt, little morsels of information. My heart sank heavily to the very pit of my stomach. Like a boulder tossed into a stagnant lake, the trembles radiated through my shaking arms. I felt a sudden urge to vomit from despair.

I'm sure it was no more than mere minutes before they got here, but in the moment, huddled under that window pane staring blankly at my phone, it felt like hours. At the rumble up the driveway, I sprung up and took the door off the latch. Lori and Carl hurried into the house shortly followed by Shane. They had backpacks with them.

"Shane, what the hell is going on?" My lower lip trembled, as I perched myself on the arm of the sofa. I'd never heard the following tone in his voice before. The proud officer of the law was worried and not masking it well. I closed my eyes, propped my elbow atop of my knee and buried my face in my hand, attempting to settle my shaking composure.

Lori returned to the living room after setting Carl up in the kitchen. The three adults compiled their stories, trying desperately to figure out what was happening. We spoke in feverish hushed tones. We discussed our options. We wait. We leave. What about Rick? I told them of the doctor's office scenes, I'd seen someone shoot a man, square in the chest, out of the corner of my eye. I'd bolted at the sound of retaliation, as the crowd erupted into terrified screams. The angry mob had terrified me at the time but as they both informed me of what they'd both seen…I realised looting and gunfire was the least of our troubles.

"Georgia, where's her towel? She's done." Ethan stuck his head out the bathroom, breaking the tension.

I took a deep breath, forced the lump back down my throat, calmly placed the phone down on the table and raised my gaze to meet his, "I'll get it."

"I'll make breakfast." Lori scurried off to the kitchen.

I'd obsessively checked my phone every ten seconds, on the dot, refreshing every news app and website I could find. Why the hell didn't Old man Brenner warn me? He apparently received a heads up! My feverish checks had been interrupted a few times. First, by a young couple arguing in their driveway before skidding away into the afternoon sun; followed by a fair few irate neighbours asking the good doctor and the deputy sheriff what they should do. I'd informed them to stay indoors and listen to the radio. Shane ordered us not to answer the door again today and took the landline off the hook.

Ethan had told us about his mother's handgun which was in a locked box in the shed. Shane came back inside after recovering it and proceeded to blockade the back door with the kitchen table. It seemed like paranoid behaviour on the surface, we were a little ways outta the centre of town and it seemed to have died down a little. But he'd informed Lori and I of the scenes at the station and insisted it was time to look out purely for our own. His words haunted me for a good while after this day, alongside a certain Hippocratic Oath.

"You got it?" I asked.

He jumped. "Goddamit Georgia, you can't be creeping up on me like that."

He peered through the back window, I didn't question his fixation.

"You remember what I taught ya?" He presented the butt of the gun to me.

"You think I'll need this?" I whispered flatly.

"I ain't moving this table to fix the Fung Shoo-ey."

I took the gun from him and stuffed it in the back of my waistband. "It's Feng-Shui, you doughnut"

The kids occupied the bed in the spare room and fell asleep fairly quickly, obviously exhausted from the confusing day. Shane was camped out on the couch as Lori and Carl slept in Olivia's room. We still hadn't brought ourselves to be in it for longer than a minute or even to sleep away from each other. After my shower was ended prematurely by the water cutting off, I made my way over to the radio in Ethan's room. I plugged in his headphones and tuned furiously through the static. I eventually landed on a local station reading out an emergency broadcast press release. It told me to stay indoors, the citizens of our fair State should stay away from anyone displaying signs of "the infection", to utilise our disaster supplies and simply sit on our hands, awaiting further instructions. What disaster supplies? I listened to the broadcaster's misplaced pleasant tone again and switched it off once I felt I couldn't handle any more.

"Clear head, Georgia." I uttered to myself.

I picked up the kid's schoolbags and emptied them upside down. The radio's advice was weighing heavy on my mind. We needed to be prepared. What if the mob came here and battered down the door? Can we really just lay low in this house until help arrives? And who is even coming, when? Was it the Army? This county's police force was split between a coma, a reluctant couch downstairs, killed in cold blood and AWOL. I knew full well I wouldn't sleep until I'd finished this. I stuffed the backpacks with food and bottles of water from the fridge and picked out anything remotely useful from the medicine cabinet. I placed our bags down at the top of the stairs and settled into the bed next to the kids, I had no qualms with the tiny bed. I really didn't want to be alone.


	3. Chapter 3: Rude Awakening

I'd like to say I was awoken gently from a peaceful slumber; it was the worst night sleep I'd had in a long time, and that's really saying something considering the past few weeks we'd had to contend with. I continuously slammed in and out of consciousness, falling fast out of my dreams when they inevitably steered hard towards nightmares. I remembered each and every dream in vivid detail, as I caught my breath and made sense of my unfamiliar surroundings. I dreamt of Olivia's 30th birthday but the happy memories descended into a reconstruction of her final run. I dreamt I was Chief of Surgery and knew what to do in every single case but then no one could understand a word I'd say and I'm rapidly losing patients. I dreamt of my mother, that was the final dream. The conversation we were having, it was precisely retold word for word, always cut short by the startling bright lights behind her, she turns to face them and-

A thunderous rumble shook the entire house, sprinklings of dust pattered down from the ceiling. Hannah began wailing. Ethan bolted upright. I followed fractions of a second after. My heart was pounding in my ears.

"Georgia, what was that?" he asked.

"Sounded like a…an army-type jet?" I threw the sheets off my legs and ran over to the window and peered through the curtains. Moments afterwards, Ethan joined me, peering beneath my arm. I heard Lori scream my name from downstairs and thunder up to our floor bawling her son's name. Dawn was breaking; the sky was beginning to fill with enticing shades of red and orange. We peered down to the end of the street; it was brimming with activity for such an unholy hour. People were tying suitcases to their cars with remarkable haste.

We both jerked our heads sharply at the sound of someone screaming across the street. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

"Georgie?" Hannah cried.

"Get dressed." I gave Ethan a small push. "Hannah: out of bed. Now!"

Lori burst into the room, with Carl in tow and rushed over to the front-facing window. "Georgia. Some freak is banging on the kitchen window." Her voice was shaking. Ethan had turned back to the window with her.

"Ethan! I said now!" he stumbled over his own feet and ran over to our pile of yesterday's clothes, scooping them up.

"We have to go, Lori." I trembled.

She was frozen at the window and turned, staggering her words. "But-but, Shane…he went to Rick. He said he'd be back. He said-"

I grabbed her shoulders, locking onto her eyes. "That is not a girl scout at the door, Lori. We need to go. He said, Ridgeland Farm."

"He what? When did he say that?"

"It's our safe place." I uttered. Lori knew of this. She knew all of this.

"Chuck me Hannah's too!" I called over to Ethan, rushed over to his little sister and began helping her change. After she was ready I began to change myself, tugging into my black skinny jeans. Lori disappeared and reappeared moments later with their bags.

"Please help her with her shoes, Ethan. Get yours on too, and your hoodies."

I was on auto-pilot, blocking out the horrifying noises around us. I was incredibly grateful we had pre-packed the backpacks. I threw them in Ethan's direction. "Get them on. Carl, Lori, you ready?"

"Georgia, what's going on?" Ethan trembled as he carried out my requests. "What's in these?"

"Bud." I levelled with him. "I don't know. I need you to be strong and help me. We have to get to the bigger city. That sickness, it's making people crazy and dangerous." We both spun at the sound of a sole gunshot, people shouted, muffled screams. "We're leaving."

"What about our stuff?" Hannah sniffed.

"We're leaving. I'll lock the door though. I'm sure we'll be able to come back when it's all sorted out." I took the little girl's hand and pushed her back pack strap up. "Let's go!"

Honestly, I was making this all up as I went along; my next course of action was never defined. I was running from task to task. We needed to get to that farm. What if Shane never came? Oh god…no, one damn thing at a time.

We bolted down the stairs and stumbled at the bottom. A dull thumping could be heard against the back door as I slipped into my Converse, stuffing the laces down the sides hastily. I led the children to the front door and peered out the curtains.

"Stay close!" I looked back, Lori nodded. Her eyes were incredibly wide.

The door creaked open and we quietly slipped out. I led the way, hurriedly down the driveway, and then I saw it. This was the first time I'd seen the extent of this "sickness" with my own eyes. Two doors down, and across the street from us: something was slumped over someone…it took a minute to digest. Digest being an apt word choice. It was eating the ravaged body. I froze as bile crept its way upward. I stuttered, scooped Hannah into my arms and dragged Ethan down by his, whispering SSSH! We all knelt behind Jesse's beat up terminal truck, gathering ourselves before dashing to my rental car; I knew full well Ethan had seen it. His face was covered in horror. We'd shared our first sight together, it seemed. Shit.

"HEY!" Lori screamed at the woman who was smashing a brick against my car, breaking out of our hiding place.

"BACK OFF!" I grimaced and ran over after Lori.

"Get away from me!" The woman pulled a gun out and Lori pushed Carl behind her.

"Whoa, ma'am…" I dropped Hannah and pushed her behind me, mimicking Lori's maternal instincts. I knew this woman.

The woman began sobbing, her arms were shaking; the brick still rose in one hand. Her arms were drenched in blood "It-it isn't…I'm so sorry, Doctor Walsh, I'm sorry!"

"Mrs Mendez. Please put the gun down. We can figure this out." I rose up my hands. Time was of the essence here; no way hadn't we alerted some of the afflicted members of the neighbourhood.

What happened next, stayed with me for a long time, frame for frame, each image burned into my brain.

Shane's police truck skidded into the lawn; the woman stumbled back, and turned her gun on the truck. He slung his door open and raised his sawn-off at her, fiercely shouting, he didn't flinch once in his motions. I turned back to watch it clamp down on her raised arm and she stumbled further and further backwards…it came out of nowhere…the woman was dragged away from the car in a desperate scuffle…with that thing in a cop's uniform. There was our answer for the AWOL officer. They scuffled away; she cried out to anyone and rapidly succumbed. I stepped out to run her way but Shane blocked me cold, square in the chest. He yelled in my face to convoy after them to Ridgeland. He yelled to get the hell in the car. I unlocked the Hyundai, yanked the back door open, shoved Ethan in and almost threw Hannah in after him. I then yanked the passenger door open and clambered over the gear stick, into the driver's seat. I hit the gas, eyes fixed on the woman who'd been dragged over the street.

Our terror was not over.

The streets were manic.

People were now running from every direction now, utter panic swept throughout. In the corner of my eye I saw them fall down, tackled. My eyes darted around, taking it all in. There was no order. Shane honked his horn and we skidded out of there.

"Roll up the windows!" I screamed orders. "No gaps, you hear me? Don't look out! Hannah, baby, cover your eyes! Are your seatbelts on?" Everything was coming apart in pieces.

We'd made our way out of the small town onto a rural road. I shuffled out of my backpack at some point, it was horrendously uncomfortable. A bottle of water was wedged into my back. I noticed the extent of the heat radiating from my cheeks, I'd been crying. Ethan had been consoling Hannah with "Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear." I could hear her exhausted cries interspersed with hiccups of chuckles.

My mind had gone numb; I pulled over on the barren road behind my brother's truck, overlooking the cornfields. My heart had not stopped pounding since those 15 minutes of escape had passed. The adrenaline was only just beginning to subside.

I turned to face the back seats. "Are you okay?"

Ethan nodded. "Are you?"

My eyes welled up. "Yeah, bud. It's okay. We're okay."

I swallowed deeply and inhaled and exhaled. "Okay, there's some granola bars in one of the backpacks, and some juice, if you guys get hungry."

I reached back and stroked Hannah's arm. "We're gonna go to the big city, there will be lots of police men, like Uncle Shane, and army men. They'll keep us safe. Okay, bub?"

Hannah nodded. Her eyes were red from sobbing; she buried her face into her bunny.

Shane tapped on the glass and motioned me to step outside. I found my shaky footing and he closed the door behind me, leading me away, out of ear shot.

"Are you all okay?" he drawled. I had never seen my brother look like this. He was shaken.

"Yeah…better than the neighbours" I wiped the last of my tears away.

"We need to get into Atlanta. The army will be looking out for the big city. Not enough man power for the sticks, I'd guess." He scratched his head and stared back in the direction of King County, it was unsettlingly quiet out here, like it never even happened.

"But…what happened at the hospital? Where's-"

Shane shook his head "He didn't make it. It was overrun."

"Oh my god" My hand found my fallen mouth. "No. Not-"

Without a beat, Shane embraced me tightly and we both cried. My heart ached for the man that was like a brother to me, for his wife and for his little boy, and for my brother who'd just lost his best friend.

"Is whatever this is…what happened to mom?" Ethan sat forward, in a hushed tone.

I brushed the stray hairs away from my face and exhaled deeply. "Yes."

The radio was telling us nothing we couldn't see out of our windows. As we set off again and left our hometown far behind my mind began to wander: what were her final moments like? I made a silent prayer that she wasn't in pain and resigned to the fact I would never know exactly what happened to Olivia. Perhaps, that was for the best.


	4. Chapter 4: Highway to

We were all silent for the next hour or so until we finally stumbled upon the highway traffic jam, there were cars backed up for miles, both behind us and up ahead. It appeared everyone had pegged their hopes in Atlanta. Ethan had clambered up front to navigate with the slightly worn out map from the glove compartment. I knew these roads like the back of my hand and stuck behind Shane's truck but figured his distraction was worth the white lie. We'd stuck to back roads but inevitably had to resurface as we edged closer to the capital.

The road was lined with woodland on each side, which made me feel rather uneasy. My nerves were kept in check by focussing my attention solely on the kids. I had to keep my family safe. The night was drawing closer and we had barely moved an inch, I was beyond frustrated now, we all were.

Our car was stationed next to an RV belonging to a friendly older gentleman and an old faded beige Cherokee containing a family of three. This made me feel slightly more at ease, and slightly less alone.

I unbuckled my seatbelt slowly as I followed the commotion a few cars back in my wing mirror. I glanced back at Hannah. She was fast asleep.

"Where are you going?" Ethan asked with a tinge of panic in his voice.

"I'm just stretching my legs. It doesn't look like we're going anywhere." I replied softly. "Stay here with your sister, please."

"Climb down outta my ass, Sergeant Steroids; it's a bang, nothing more." The southern accent was grating in this one.

"Whatever man, I'm just saying, it's probably dislocated" My brother was trying to reason with the redneck who sat slumped over a motorcycle. I noticed Sergeant Steroids had his pistol hanging in his holster; hardly surprising, he had a penchant for sticking his nose in other people's business.

"I need nothin' from these kind folks, 'cept to get the hell outta my way." He spat on the ground, I winced and cursed the oath that directed me here, simultaneously.

"Excuse me?" they all turned around and planted their eyes on me. "Whoa, okay. Hi. I'm actually a doctor; I can have a look at you, if you'd like?"

"Oh, I like! Get on over here, Sugar-Tits." He grinned. Well, this was a terrible idea. "You can do anything you want with me."

"Georgia will do just nicely, thank you sir." I approached him and felt Sergeant Steroids close in behind me. I examined the man's shoulder; it was a clear dislocation decorated with some more superficial cuts.

"Ooh careful where yer prodding there, Georgia Peach." His other hand decided to make itself at home on my ass.

"Wow, buy her dinner first?" A scraggy red-haired woman leered forwards and slapped it away, cackling. He merely chuckled as Sergeant Steroids huffed and puffed from behind me. Some choice words were released for this hillbilly but I honestly wasn't terribly concerned, a chauvinistic redneck with little to no manners was the least of my concerns.

"Merle, stop dicking around" His crony piped up from his position leant against a pick-up truck. "Let her help you."

"Don't recall asking yer input, baby brother. Nothing like making light of the situation ain't every day a blonde bimbo starts laying their hands all over you and- AHHHHH!"

I slammed the joint back into its rightful place. He tentatively moved his arm about.

"Take it easy on that shoulder for a while, Merle. Use your other arm jacking off tonight."

I heard his brother scoff as I turned to walk away, Shane in tow. Merle was seething some more explicit imagery to which I merely replied, "You're welcome."

The tiny buzz from the tiny victory against Merle soon fizzled out. I was leant against the back of the car, out of the children's gaze. I didn't want them to see me in yet another moment of weakness. I brushed the stray tears away from my cheeks and turned to distract myself. I watched Carl sitting in the back of the Cherokee playing checkers with a girl roughly his age.

"Are we gonna go soon?" The little girl asked.

"I don't know, baby. I sure hope so." Her mother answered.

"I'm hungry." Carl moaned.

"I know, Carl. We all are." Lori replied.

"Why don't I get him something to eat?" The girl's mom said. "Ed's into all this survival stuff. We've got enough MRE's to feed a small army."

"I'd sure appreciate it." Lori replied.

"No trouble."

I saw the woman's husband stop her and slam the door shut. My heart jumped and the tiny hairs on my arms stood to attention. I stood upright from the car instinctively, in a firm stance.

"What in the hell did you tell her that for?" He seethed. "We don't even know these damn people."

His words hung sourly in the air. The tension was palpable. I searched for Shane; he was speaking with the RV man away on the opposite side from us.

"The boy is hungry. We can spare one box." She replied in a hushed tone, urging him to do the same.

"It's called operational security. How long do you think this stuff is gonna last if you keep running your damn mouth off to everybody we meet?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking." She responded before walking hesitantly back around the car.

"I've still got some granola bars here if the kids are hungry, Lori, last box though." I kept my gaze firmly on her, desperately wanted to avoid getting the rotund, sweaty tyrant mad.

"Are you sure? That is so great, thank you." Lori replied.

"Of course, it's not much, but better than nothing." I nodded and went back into our car. All that remained after removing the full box of granola bars was three bottles of water and half a scrunched up bag of dry cereal.

"Here you go." I said handing them back to the kids.

"Thank you." They both said.

"Who's winning?" I asked the girl.

"Carl. But we're gonna play again after this. I'm Sophia." She answered.

"That'll only be round what, 17?" Carl said.

"I'm Georgia; it's nice to meet you Sophia." I smiled before walking over to Hannah and opened her door.

"Hey, are you hungry?" I asked Hannah as I gently woke her up.

She nodded. I unbuckled her and picked her up.

"Let's get a little fresh air, huh?" I spoke to Ethan too.

I helped Hannah scramble onto the bumper and took my place next to her, handing over a granola bar.

"I'm Carol." Sophia's mom said as she re-approached our vehicle. "You must be Shane's sister?"

"I'm Georgia." I replied and shook her hand.

"What's your daughter's name?" Carol asked.

"Oh, she's not my daughter. She's my um…this is Hannah and Ethan. They're our brother's kids." I smiled awkwardly, really not wanting to invite more questions.

She looked as though she wanted to follow up, but stopped herself tactfully in the presence of the young children. She merely placed her hand on my arm. I smiled at her in solidarity. I wanted to convey my support to her also in that warm smile. I like to think she was trying to convey her thanks in the one she returned.

"Bless you." She said gently. Her parting words hung in the forefront of my mind. If I wasn't so exhausted, I could have chuckled darkly. I had yet done anything to deserve a blessing. I'd never had much of a relationship with the big man, in fact I'd always felt a little cheated by him, and now…well, he was definitely taking the piss. As my mind begun to fall through the images that were scratched into my day, Hannah's voice yanked me back.

"Georgie, I gotta pee." Hannah said after she finished munching her granola bar.

"Alright bub, let's take care of that. It was nice to meet you, Carol." I said as I helped Hannah down. "Would you mind watching Ethan for a few minutes?"

"Of course, let's see the other kids, son." She smiled before leading Ethan over to where Carl and Sophia were chatting. I heard him mutter "I'm fourteen" under his breath as he followed her.

We were barely two steps away from the road when the explosions shook the ground and then the screams. I turned around sharply, assuring myself they must have been purely gasps of horror, which were only marginally preferable.

"What was that?" the young girl asked, glued to my legs.

"I uh, don't know bub. Come on, let's be really quick."

When we got back to the road more aircraft were flying overhead towards the city of Atlanta. The occupants of our Highway build up were scrambling to see through the treelines. Ethan was standing with his hand on Carl's shoulder. We watched Atlanta light up, littered in explosions. Entire buildings were collapsing. Sergeant Steroids consoled Lori.

"What's happening?" Hannah asked again.

"Everything will be okay, nana, I've got you." I picked her up as she buried her head into my shoulder.

"George." Ethan finally spoke up but continued to be statue-like "What now?"


	5. Chapter 5: Home Sweet Quarry

Lori, informed me of Shane's revised plan to drive out West to an abandoned quarry. Atlanta was a bust; aircraft had followed in streams to finish the job. We were to stay close enough that the Army could find us but not out in the open for Walkers to find us. Everything and everyone was spinning into overdrive, the explosions had given freaks miles around a new target. I had no other plan so I complied. That was my only plan. Protect my family, which consisted of the kids, my brother, Lori and her son. After spending a number of hours with the people stuck around us, I immediately felt a little bit safer; safety in numbers, as they say. They hadn't covered this part in Med-School. They also hadn't briefed this scenario when I agreed to become a godmother. I was under the impression a birthday card and kick-ass cool-aunt advice was all that was required of me.

A fair few cars had abandoned the highway and joined the line to the quarry. That night, and into the early hours of the morning, people arrived at the makeshift camp, set up their tents and settled down.

I obviously hadn't packed camping gear in my haste to get out of King County, so Ethan, Hannah and I slept in our car. I removed the trunk guard and lay the back seats down horizontally. I organised our little sleeping area, made out of our hoodies and backpacks as pillows. The sticky Georgia air rendered blankets pretty much unnecessary. We all huddled close together and closed our weary eyes. I won't say it was the best night's sleep, but it was sleep nonetheless. Sleep was something I feared would elude me forevermore.

Shane decided to assume a leader position of our new community, which I honestly had no issue with. He was a policeman after all, strong, capable, the camp residents looked up to him; he was in his element. The next morning we took it up a gear and set his plans into motion. First, we compiled our supplies, predominantly food. The only fiercely reluctant resident was of course Ed, who insisted he had nothing to contribute. Shane then had us inventory and assess our priorities.

A few separate smaller campfires were assembled ahead of nightfall; thirty people couldn't fit around one measly fire and an adequate fire would attract unwanted visitors.

While eating our breakfast we all introduced ourselves and exchanged pleasantries. The topic swayed clearly away from our recent experiences and stuck to the happier, somewhat redundant topics of occupations and sports teams. It was partially to break the ice but I could tell Shane was primarily concerned with assessing the attributes and skills of his team.

Dale was the name of the RV man. I was happy to finally place a name to him; he seemed like a nice guy, he spoke with kind words and a gentle demeanour. He was retired; I assumed he was perhaps just over 60 years of age. In Shane's eyes, here was the owner of a hunting rifle, fishing equipment, mechanical skills and an assortment of tools. Dale rose up a few ranks.

Glenn was sat to my immediate right, beside Ethan. He was nice, he told us about his job as a pizza delivery boy. He reminded me of one of my freshmen roommates, but much sweeter. His sharp wit led me to believe he was wasted on that occupation. Glenn was wicked fast, smart and not an immediate threat to Shane's alpha male position.

I gravitated towards Amy as we had a very similar sense of humour. Amy was a few years younger than me, just graduated in journalism, her benefits to Shane's roster were not immediate, but she was a strong personality in the group. These were the three campers I gravitated towards and found myself subsequently spending the most time with.

My initial hatred towards Ed was right on the money; he spent the majority of his time chain-smoking cigarettes and piped in to Shane's speeches purely to disrupt him, unsettled at the presence of a stronger male leader. Not that I had an ounce of faith in Ed's leadership skills, he proved incapable of leading himself out of bed before noon. Carol and Sophia were reserved for the most part, but a conversation-heavy morning is the last thing I'd fancy after an altercation with a repulsive chap like Ed.

Merle and Daryl Dixon were a walking caricature of red necks. Merle was abrupt, racist, a general all round asshole, and kept sniffing in that suspicious manner I instantly recognised from my rotation in the ER. Drugs, of some kind, were his hobby. I could almost hear the recycled story of fictional pain and desperate need of relief. He had that glazed over look that made you wonder if anyone was at home.

Daryl was a little different. He wasn't displaying a lust for the recreational habits his brother did but he could also be just as rude when he wanted to be. He touted a whopping huge crossbow and spat on the ground. I glanced down, repulsed. The Dixon brothers were highly skilled at hunting and fighting.

I didn't have a long opportunity to chat to T-Dog and Jacqui, but from what I could tell they were good people. Morales and his family were warm, embracing characters. I was glad there were more children for Hannah, Ethan and Carl to be around. I didn't know much about Jim, he was alone and quiet, and he kept to himself.

Andrea was Amy's sister. I'd only known her for a few hours and I could tell she had a strong voice that wasn't going to go unheard. Some people may have perceived that as bitchiness, but I admired her for it and made a mental note to stick on her good side.

Eventually, it was my turn.

I told the group I'd graduated from Med-School and was a resident GP in King County, I left out Boston, Olivia, my family, my favourite sports team. I didn't particularly want to divulge anymore, that's all they needed to know.

Miranda, Morales' wife smiled "Brenner, Walsh and Associates? My niece Hattie was-"

"The receptionist" As I explained it was my mother's name on the door, not my own. I noticed Daryl looking at me but as I caught his gaze, he dropped it immediately.

I continued on to downplay my achievements and blushed as I attempted to joke that whilst I had the theory down, I was still a baby in the field.

Jacqui shook her head supportively and smiled her warm smile, "That's a true asset to us. I thought you were younger."

"I'm 25, 26 in December. I uh-went to College a year early. "

My skills, though limited in my opinion, were fully embraced by the group. I felt an overwhelming feeling of belonging. It had been a while since I'd felt like this.

"That's real cute; I totally thought you were older. It's so funny how different people see totally different things. I guess that's what makes everyone unique." The red-haired girl from the back of Merle's motorcycle chipped in abruptly, dragging the conversation her direction. And when I say red-haired, I mean a dodgy packet-dye fire-truck red with drawn-out mousy roots, not the classy natural auburn. It took a few goes attempting to unravel any of her points. She informed us all of her star sign, her lifelong ambition to make it as a dancer and rattled off her interests as if she was composing her online dating profile. She was unreal. I knew in that moment, this one was going to get on my tits.

"Well, my name is Kimberly, y'all can call me Kimmy though, and I straight up hate Kim, it sounds so proper and old, am I right? Right, it means like the sparkling, beauty of precious, valuable beauty and it's also half homage to the A-MAY-ZING country sensation that is Leah Barker-Knowles, Oh-My-Jesus; please tell me y'all know her right? You've not been living under some rock or-" I honestly can't recall the rest; I didn't allow it to take up brain space. As soon as she began her 20 minute babble regarding her incredibly unique moniker, I pegged her as the dumb bimbo that was going to get one of us killed. The look I exchanged with Lori and then Amy indicated I wasn't alone in this assumption.

After "breakfast" and getting acquainted, Shane rattled through his agenda, dishing out the jobs. The women were assigned as a group to cooking duty and individually other equally sexist assorted chores, which was met by an overt scoff from Andrea. Morales and his son Louis were tasked with shielding the fires from attracting unwelcome attention. Dale was perched atop the RV on guard duty, and the rest of the men were following Shane staking out the immediate area, with the exception of the Dixon brothers who were shortly heading out on a hunt.

I was assigned to develop a clearer idea of what medical supplies we would need, both best and worst case scenarios to consider, long and short term. Shane had designated one of the pick-up trucks as my "practice" to store those supplies in. I laughed to myself, after all those years grafting to become a surgeon, swearing I'd never become a mind-numbing General Practitioner, life dragged me back to King County and the supposed apocalypse brought me back to playing village GP.

"Hey bud, what're you up to?" I approached my nephew.

He was sat with his back up against a tree, eyes closed, looking lethargic. As I got closer I noticed, little Hannah tucked behind him.

"We are colouring." He answered. His big green eyes squinted in the harsh sun. "Shane wanted the kids to stay out the way. So here I am, being a kid."

"Huh." I nodded. "Where'd you get this stuff?"

"Mrs Morales" Hannah smiled up at me.

"That sure was nice of her. Why don't you catch up with the other kids? It's getting a little hot out here. I think they're drawing too, in the shade of Dale's RV." I asked.

"Okay." Ethan rolled his eyes and replied monotonously as he stood up. I helped pull Hannah up off the ground and turned my attention back to my nephew.

"Look Ethan, I can teach you a few medical tricks, when we get stocked up. You can help me, but knowing the kids are looked after is important too."

"I get that." He nodded. "Is this it now?"

"What do you mean?" I shielded my eyes from the blaring sun.

"These people, this camp?" his gestures were defeated.

"For now…yes. We need to stick together and pull our weight. We have to play this by ear. God knows what even remains out there?"

Ethan placed a hand on my shoulder. "Just…don't keep me in the dark. I'm not a little kid anymore."

I smiled at the boy, no longer a little boy, he was actually almost my height now, when did he get so grown up? We watched Hannah running towards Sophia and then smack straight into Daryl. I merely cringed at first, but then became enraged as he started shouting at her.

"What the hell are you doing?" I stormed towards the hillbilly and got right up in his face.

Daryl turned to sneer down at me "Tell your brat to watch where she's going!"

I looked down at Hannah who wasn't entirely sure what was happening.

"Hannah, go to the RV." I ordered.

She nodded shakily before scrambling to her feet and running past me.

"Dude, what is your problem? She's a little kid, it was an accident!" his eyes widened in response to my look of disbelief, he found it hilarious and called my bluff, stepping closer into me.

He simply snorted "Settle down, Princess."

"Ugh, dramatic much Georgie Pie?" Kim sneered out of nowhere. Where the hell…?

"Pretty sure this has fuck all to do with you, Kim." My eyes were planted firmly on Daryl.

She rolled her eyes and slapped her hand firmly between us onto his chest in a pathetic power play, "Hon, Merle's about ready to head out, if you are?"

Daryl flung his arm around the bimbo and they carried on their merry way. What a jackass.

"I'm really sorry, Georgie." Hannah whispered tentatively.

"It's alright, bub. It was an accident." I replied, rustling her hair. "He's just a grumpy man." It was in that instant that I realised it: I no longer placed my own safety first. My sole motivation was now keeping Ethan and his little sister safe.

"Hey Georgia Peach, fancy a dip?" Amy asked. That I did. "Perhaps we all need to cool down a little?"

I borrowed a simple black bikini from her and laughed at her apocalypse packing choices; she assured me the multitude of bikinis were from a crumpled up shopping bag in the trunk of her car, she was supposed to be going to Cabo next month. After changing in the RV, we both grabbed the kiddos and headed down. Hannah didn't know how to swim, so the kids stayed closer to the beach, or merely paddled in the water with her, while Amy and I swam farther out.

"Where'd you go to College?" Amy smiled.

I was caught a little off guard by her abrupt topic change. "Oh, um, up north."

"I got this theory. I think it was Ivy League. I think you're some kinda prodigy and for some bananas reason, you're embarrassed…your brother's insanely jealous? You funded it all from gangster dealings?"

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Gambling? Stripping?"

"Amy!"

"Princeton? Stanford? Harvard?"

I turned away.

"Holy shit! Harvard?"

"Shhh."

"I don't understand this! I'd be shitting my pants, singing from the rafters if I was you! I'm chilling with my Arizona State Journalism degree and you're downplaying Harvard freakin' Med!"

I laughed at her animated splashing. "Okay. It's not a big deal."

"A YEAR EARLY?!" She shrieked.

"I worked hard okay? It was hardly easy. My mom was a doctor, followed her footsteps, blah blah blah."

"Was?" her tone returned to human level.

I merely nodded.

"I'm sorry, that's rough."

"It was a long time ago."

We moved on, laughed at each other's alternate expense and splashed about for a bit before Kim strutted down the path to the waterfront, in her underwear...

"Good lord, if you're done, I am…" Amy uttered under her breath. It appeared Kim had done a sterling job of grating everyone up the wrong way. I sighed and called out to the kids that it was time for lunch.

As we were finishing drying off, she appeared square in front of me, "Hey, honey. How's the water?" she smiled sweetly.

"Grand, enjoy." I gave my hair one last dry and began folding the towel up.

"You know, can I just say? You are really getting there, back to your fighting weight. It'll happen though; I guess it's harder for working moms to bounce back."

Amy burst out laughing and I refused to shrink to her level, "Yeah, after the trauma of becoming an 11 year old mom, I let myself go a little." I shook my head as Amy led me up the path.

"What a crazy bitch!" Amy whispered with wide eyes. "At least poke fun at the actual podgy ones around here, snapping at you doesn't even merit an ounce of sense?" she poked at her belly.

"What podge? You're the crazy one." We giggled the rest of the way up the path, eventually catching up with the kids. The bitter "rivalry" I'd somehow fallen into with this Kim girl, unsettled me. It was just like being back in High School, which our situation really didn't warrant.

We both sat on top of the RV with Dale and Glenn, talking, eating questionable canned hot dogs and exchanging stories, I think about our worst jobs ever. Andrea joined us a little later with two rogue warm beers, which we passed around. Andrea and I engaged in a heated debate surrounding a few deeper issues, just what I needed after Kim's presence depleted a few brain cells.

Hannah's little voice piped up from below us, asking me to wrestle the car seats down for bed.

Dale was eminently bothered at the revelation my little family had been sleeping in our car and he climbed down the ladder with haste mid-rant.

I smiled after him "It's alright, a little cosy, sure, but not that bad."

"Well, I was going to fish out my 4-man tent for you. I thought everyone was already kitted out." Dale offered without waiting for an acceptance.

"Seriously…" I felt my eyes well up and instantly looked up to quell them back in. The friends around me were smiling warmly at the gesture and followed me down the ladder.

"Yeah, it's in here somewhere." Dale replied, mid-rummage from inside his RV.

"Thank you, Dale." I embraced him sincerely upon his return. Everyone helped set it up, on a patch behind the RV, overlooking the quarry.


	6. Chapter 6: Stitched Up

A week had already flown by and our camp was taking shape. It wasn't exactly idyllic but we made it as homely as possible. Our four-man tent was sufficiently roomy so we all slept in the middle with our limited possessions lining each side. It sounds silly, but I think it made us feel a little safer too. We sat outside on our "house" on our makeshift porch which boasted a chunky log, an old crate and Dale's old camping table to complete the suite. Ethan, Hannah and I were taking it in turns to draw a different animal or fruit for each letter of the alphabet.

"Hey! Doc!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Daryl stumbling towards us with his crossbow, flailing about.

"Are you talking to me?" I replied as I stood up, squinting in the broad Georgia sun.

"You're one of them doctor types, right? Reckon you could sort this?" He raised his shirt to expose a gash on his side.

"Oh god!" I wandered over to him to get a closer look.

"Little heated debate with Merle."

I raised my eyebrow. "Are you serious?" I turned to the RV with Dale perched on top, his eyebrow raised in a manner I had grown to associate with him,

"Could you watch them for a while?" I asked.

"No problem." Dale answered flatly.

"Thank you!" I called back.

Hannah ran towards the RV clasping the pictures. She was always eager to show Dale her latest creations, it was pretty adorable.

Daryl plonked himself flat down on the ground beside my medical car, stretching his hands behind his head. I sighed to be careful; he'd scatter dirt into the wound. He scoffed as I knelt down to cleanse and began to stitch him up.

"You ever fired one of these?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbows and reaching over for his crossbow.

"Can you lie down?" I raised my voice and forced him down, pushing down his chest, he complied. "I'm going to stab you accidentally, otherwise."

He was looking directly into my eyes, it was incredibly distracting. He didn't say anything.

"Nothing that fancy…just a basic bow. My brother Jesse taught me. I went through a vegetarian phase though. I guess it's a good thing I grew outta that. Not exactly an option to be picky anymore."

He almost smiled, and then winced at the stitching, "You any good?"

"I can hold my own."

After that we were silent again. Why was he so curious?

"You uh, doctor types…" he began. "…are under some kinda obligation to help people out?"

"I guess so, although the disbarring fellas ain't too active right now… and I'm not really sure what you're getting at?"

I sat back on my knees and admired my work, I was pretty proud. All those hours practicing on oranges was evidently time well-spent. I finished up and patted down the covering gently, I realised I had almost been caressing it. Daryl's torso was incredibly toned, and solid.

"Sure are taking yer time there, doc." He sighed with his raspy tone.

"DARYL?" Kim's hideously sickly voice penetrated my lobes. She had a sterling sense of timing; I'll give her that "Your brother is looking for you. You'd better hurry up, there, hon." Her eyes were blotchy and red, not that I cared all that much.

"If you two could use your words, in future, maybe we can save the supplies for actual emergencies?" I rose to my feet and started packing away. "And is she your keeper or something? Community care? Rent a redneck? Oh, you just happened to score a skanky parole officer, got it."

Daryl pulled his shirt down and merely scoffed.

"Aaaand you're welcome, too, by the way." I sighed, but didn't look back at him.

"Maybe you can try your hand at it, sometime." I looked over my shoulder; he was dangerously close to me. As I turned to face him, the minimal distance between us threw my sass off.

"Yeah, maybe" And with that, he smirked and left after the shrill one.

What…was with this guy and personal space?

 **Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is just a little filler one! I'm finishing up my exams next week and then I can really dive into this :) (really shouldn't be procrastinating right now :P) I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, it's my first fanfic. I have so many ideas for this, I can't wait to get started. Til next time! xx**


	7. Chapter 7: Getting Cosy and Complacent

The next week rolled around and passed without note. The camp was becoming more settled, kind of like a holiday campsite, it was actually quite the pleasant atmosphere. Glenn perched himself on top of the RV ready for another shift of uneventful "guard duty" and waved down to us. Amy and I set our towels out to relax in the late afternoon sun. I was just wearing the black bikini and had borrowed a pair of cut off denim shorts from Amy. I counted my blessings, not for the first time in my life; the only gene I'd inherited from my father was his tanning ability. The children were all occupied at the shore of the quarry, with Carol keeping a watchful eye so I felt a little more at ease. I cherished this moment of relaxation, a break from the constant alert of being a guardian. Amy and I were discussing our worst dates when she dropped a bomb.

"What's with you and the hillbilly?" Amy propped herself up onto her elbows.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" I could feel my face burn red, and not from the sun.

Life at the camp had become a little dull, to be honest, a little complacent. Glenn had approached me regarding joining him on scavenging trips but I was working on the best way to tell Shane my intentions. Besides from delivering mini first aid sessions and sticking band aids on the kids scrapes, I'd been hunting with Daryl. Every once in a while he would let me use his crossbow, but only at makeshift targets. He didn't want to "waste a perfect shot on a rookie".

"I mean are you guys hooking up or-" Amy raised her eyebrow.

I turned my head the other way to avoid her smirk "Oh please! No way. I don't wanna encroach on Kimbo's territory. We're just friends, I think."

"You think you're just friends?" Amy pushed on.

"That's not what I meant. You're putting words in my mouth. We do friendly stuff, we hang out and talk and stuff." I said.

"Friendly stuff, huh?" Amy chuckled. "Everything sounds so innocent when you say it!"

I merely sighed in return.

"Well he definitely has the hots for you. It's all over his face and his actions. He's always looking at you."

"He is not!" I turned to face her, cringing.

"He's a hot-blooded male, Georgia. Of course he does, look at you. You've got legs for days and a cute little booty to match."

I was taken aback by her compliment. It had been a long time since I'd been told I looked nice. It wasn't that I disbelieved her sincerity, I was just not used to it. I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Do you think he's attractive?" Amy asked.

"Yeah, he's attractive, I guess, in a scruffy way." I answered.

"Oh my god, speak of the devil!" Amy laughed as she playfully hit my arm. "Look!"

I glanced up to the top of the quarry wall to see Daryl looking in our direction and continue talking to Glenn after our eyes met. Amy continued to chuckle but steered the subject elsewhere after noticing I was uncomfortable. She had a good way of sensing what people were feeling and putting them at ease; after she'd had her fun, of course.

When we returned to the centre of camp, I noticed that Daryl had caught a deer and was skinning it; right there, in plain sight of the children. Daryl must have felt my stare. He took one look at me and muttered "It ain't gonna help them, sheltering them."

"I know." He stopped as he noticed I was just staring at the deer, disheartened. "She just deserves to be seven, ya know." I walked over to Hannah and took her inside Dale's RV.

The second I stepped outside, Daryl was immediately in my way.

"Oh Jesus!" I shuddered and grasped my chest.

"Doc, I need a word." He grabbed me lightly by the arm, behind the RV, out of earshot of the rest of the camp.

"Okay, what?" I shook out of his grasp and folded my arms.

He scratched his head and looked out over the quarry, agitated.

"Ain't got all day, Daryl" I sighed.

"Me and Kimberly, we had a night, a while ago. Stupid drunken mess. It was before everything went to shit." His voice grew smaller as he continued on.

"Sorry, why are you telling me this?" my hands slid down to my hips.

"I'm getting to it!" He snapped back.  
I raised my hands up sarcastically, "And?"

"She's knocked up, apparently."

Well, there was my answer to the stolen glances and giant sculpted biceps. Kimbo the Bimbo was pregnant, which bothered me purely on a logical level. A BABY? Poor kid, welcome to the shit-storm, best of luck! How goddamn stupid and irresponsible, can you honestly behave? And how can your type be the half-naked, dim as a doorpost type? I'll have to remember that Kimbo Bimbo line for Amy later.

"Jolly perfect timing." I raised an eyebrow, awkwardly and forgot how to stand naturally. I suddenly became exceptionally aware of every nuance of my movements and punctuated all my exhalations.

"Ain't ideal" He drawled "And we'll be on our way soon enough, with our walker alarm."

Did I just say my rant part out loud? I panicked for a second before he continued on.

"I was hoping you'd help us out. Let her know what she needs to do, medical stuff. What I should look out for on my next run?"

I chewed my lip as he spoke before finally bursting out, "You mean other than walkers? Where the hell would you go?"

"Got time to figure that out" he said plainly, and not to my satisfaction.

"You should….talk to Shane. Or Lori. They won't kick you out."

"That's yer brother, why don't-"

"Yeah, but since it ain't my irresponsibly-conceived baby, I'll leave the talking to you." And with that I stormed off back around the RV and slammed the door behind me.

"Georgie?" Hannah poked her head around from the front seat.

I composed my shaking hands and edged up to join her, "Hey Banana, whatcha doin?" I smiled.

Lori and Jacqui made a hearty meal of deer and beans for the group that night. Hannah and I took out place beside Ethan, around the campfire and dug in. Shane approached me and I informed him in no uncertain terms I'd be helping Glenn scavenge for medical supplies, I played the "he doesn't know what he's looking for" card and it went down with little debate, just genuine concern and demands to be careful. I looked past Shane as we spoke and noticed Daryl looking my way. I wondered whether I was only noticing this after Amy's jokes. I was sat opposite him; there were only limited ways he could look. And the father of a baby to be born into literal hell would do well not to be looking across campfires at doctors who are not the mothers of said babies.

"The kids have all built a tee-pee next to Lori's tent; it's kinda cool actually, is it alright if we all sleep there tonight?" Ethan asked as Shane left.

"Um, yeah bud, just don't keep yer neighbours up." I replied, secretly relieved that my brain could catch a break with the distraction.

After helping Hannah change into her pyjamas, I pulled back the sleeping bag we shared and tucked her in. I told her I was just going to grab some water and would be right back.

"Goodnight, mommy" The sleepy girl yawned and rolled over to sleep. I froze there for a moment before leaving the tent. The word pierced my thoughts. My heart sank for the little girl; I could only imagine what she made of all of this. She was so young, shipped back and forth from her mother's family to mine, and then watching her father slip in and out of her life. This was probably the longest she'd been in one place; I choked back the irony as I stepped out of the tent.

The rest of the camp had extinguished their fires and headed back to their respective homes. Carl, Ethan and Louis' laughter could just be heard from the other side of the camp. I planned on heading over and telling them to knock it off if they hadn't simmered down upon my return.

I was seconds away from the water barrels when someone put their hand over my mouth and put an arm around my waist before dragging me towards the trees. My heart was racing, I knew it couldn't be a walker; I'd have been half digested by now. It was a large, strong man. Who? What? I kicked the whole way and I screamed through their dirty hand. My kick made contact with the assailant's delicate area.

"OW! You bitch!" Merle exclaimed as he threw me to the ground.

"What the hell?" I spat, stumbling up, wiping my mouth where his hand had covered, and rubbing my ribs he'd roughly seized. "Jesus, you stink." A thick aroma of whisky wafted over.

"Settle down, darling! I've seen you parade yourself around, fucking half naked. Ain't nothin' wrong with being a shameless slut…just my type, in fact! And I am more than happy to disappear with you into the woods for a quickie."

"Are you mentally deficient?" I exhaled in disbelief. "Not if you were the last penis on earth, pal."

"Oh, afraid of what Darylina will say?" He spat, chuckling to himself. "Don't worry, sugar tits, he ain't picky, as long as he gets his hole. Dixon-trait"

"You're unbelievable." I replied and made a motion to head back.

He pushed me back square in the chest. After the rough manner he'd dragged me out here, my skin was already sensitive. The force of his hit radiated through my chest, I let out an "Ah!"

"Now why don't you reconsider the offer, little lady? It ain't like there's a massive pool of bachelors to choose from."

"Get out of my way." I knew I needed to walk away, the pain in my chest was radiating, and tears were prickling my eyes. I started to walk away.

"Don't you walk away from me, girl!" Merle snarled before grabbing me by my hair and pinning me to a tree. I let out a whimper at the force of his body against mine. "Or has he already claimed you?"

"Merle! No! Please, get off of me!" I struggled and coughed under his weight.

He scoffed "Oh, you've changed your tune now! Shame, I like 'em feisty, doc." His hand slid under my shirt. As I tried to push him off me, he grabbed my wrists violently and pinned them above my head.

"Come on baby, let's not waste any more time. Give in to your desires. You can't help yourself." He kissed my neck violently, I felt sick. My legs were shaking, a tear rolled down my cheek as I cried and struggled, it was futile.

"Please, stop! No! Stop!" I felt horrified and helpless. He just…laughed. The next thing I knew, the pressure was freed. My hands fell to my side. I rubbed my neck and coughed.

Merle was lying groaning, almost unconscious on the floor. When his eyes fell upon his attacker, he cackled.

Daryl stood over him, breathing heavily. "The lady said no, rat bag, fucking-piece-of-shit! You're no better than him!" Every syllable met a new kick to Merle's ribs. I began to snap out of my daze. My mind had already gone into block-out mode. No better than who?

"He's not worth it!" I pulled Daryl's arm. "Daryl, stop! It's not worth it!"

Daryl turned to face me briefly, he didn't calm down.

He spat on Merle "You stay the fuck away from her!"

I wondered at what point he'd stumbled upon us. He turned to leave. I stood there for a few moments to catch my breath before Daryl stopped dead in his tracks and exhaled deeply, "Walk with me! Fuck yer oath."

I didn't glance back at Merle; I heard his cowardly whimpering as I approached Daryl. We headed back to my tent, he held out an arm to prevent me heading straight in. "He so much as looks at you again, you tell me." I was so embarrassed at what he'd seen. I couldn't bring myself to say anything. I was still processing what had happened as I traced the rip in my shirt.

"You okay?" he sighed.

I nodded and headed into my tent. I was thankful he had been there; don't get me wrong, I was incredibly grateful. I just wanted to the day to be over. I hastily threw my clothes into the corner of the tent as my eyes lined with tears. I wouldn't cry. I couldn't wake Hannah. I lay down next to her and drifted off into an agitated sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Facing the Music

I stirred and jolted awake, caught my breath and noticed I was alone; Ethan and Hannah were already up and about. I rummaged about for my clothes and winced as I lifted my shirt. Bruises had emerged on my side from last night. The oversized t-shirt I'd donned hung off one shoulder exposing the mark on my neck.

"Damn."

A reddish purple hand print plastered across my chest and neck, how the hell was I supposed to hide that? I can't hide in here all day, it's stuffy as hell. I was supposed to be teaching the children first aid techniques today. I sighed, I don't have any other clothing options, it's not like I'd brought my entire wardrobe along here. Even if I did, I'd look like a prize weirdo, wrapped up to the nines in the Georgian heat.

"Morning sunshine, there's breakfast out here waiting for you." I jumped as Amy announced her impending arrival and unzipped my tent.

"What the hell! What happened to your neck?" Amy basically bellowed. I dragged her into the tent, hushing her down.

"Forget about it" I answered as I scurried around the tent looking at my futile options.

"That looks like a goddamn hand print, who the fuck did that?" She hissed.

"It was nothing, I mean no one! Listen, Amy, can you just say I'm sick or something?" I said.

"Wait here, I'll be right back." Amy ran out of the tent.

My heart started into overdrive. Was she running to tell Shane? I winced at the idea of telling the entire camp of my shame. Amy returned with a mini make up bag and a silk scarf.

"Seriously?" I laughed through a tear that trickled down my face.

"It's Alexander McQueen, so I'll need it back." She smiled gently and continued to delicately dot concealer on my neck. "And I heard no one's making this shit anymore, so feel mighty privileged I'm sharing it with you. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. Please know though, I'm here for you."

I parted with as little information as possible but enough for her to understand what had gone on.

"He's disgusting. Sounds like you got out of that just in time." She looked sympathetic. "I've never experienced that. I'm so sorry. Thank god for Daryl. And now you have me looking out for you as well. Urgh! Just the thought of living next to a freaking rapist!"

"You can't say anything, Amy! Please, Shane would blow his lid!"

"Okay, I won't. I'm jealous of Daryl getting to kick the shit out of him."

I silently thanked god for Daryl's intervention and the great friend I'd found in Amy.

"There's uh, something else, which also doesn't leave this tent…"

"Okay, what?" she huddled in closer.

"Kimbo, the Bimbo…"

Amy smirked, "Hahaaa! Too easy."

"Heh, literally. She's pregnant. Daryl's baby." I uttered.

Amy sat back as her jaw dropped to the floor. "No?!"

I nodded slowly and led the way out of the tent into the fresh morning air, it looked like she needed it. Her mouth was still fallen open as Lori stumbled out of the woods looking rather dishevelled; her hair was royally messed up. I was at a loss for an explanation until a few moments later, Shane emerged. His smirk said it all.

"Oh, I so called it." Kim giggled, raising her hand for a high-five.

I shook my head in disgust and started towards him, only to be cut off abruptly by Dale.

"Not the time, Georgia." He sought eye contact as I relentlessly scorned in my brother's direction. Revulsion boiled up inside of me, the rationale that I had no actual proof didn't matter. I wanted to scream after him as he sauntered away, launch their dirty laundry all over the campsite, and her! She glanced back at him; they exchanged a knowing grin with each other and carried on with their day, like nothing had even happened. It had only been a matter of weeks, barely 3 since we'd left…I stormed off in the opposite direction to cool off.


	9. Chapter 9: GUTS

Wounds had healed, life had simmered on. It was due time to return to the city for scavenging and I relished the thought of getting out of this camp. I'd never been much of a home-bird and the monotony here was becoming stifling. Glenn, Morales, T-Dog, Andrea and I were all going this time. Merle offered up his services last minute, much to my dismay. Daryl and Merle had a mild altercation before Daryl disappeared on his solo hunting trip.

I grabbed Daryl by the arm as he stormed passed me.

"Hey." I whispered.

He merely returned a pissed off glare in Merle's direction.

"I didn't thank-"

"Don't mention it." He dismissed my words and continued stomping off. Whatever stupid unwarranted feelings I had developed for this guy needed to be smothered out. He was the living embodiment of hot and cold and frankly, I was exhausted keeping up, and it was draining running around this damn romance novel. Minus the romance, just pages and pages of heavy glancing and muscly arms and of course, the baby daddy plot twist.

"Don't you worry, baby brother!" Merle hollered after him, flinging his arm over my shoulder. "I'll keep an eye on our happy campers!" I shrugged his limb off in disgust and re-joined the group.

Our primary objective today was to reach a pharmacy in one of the malls that Glenn and I had previously been scouting. It sat on the outskirts of the city and looked largely untouched. On our initial infiltration we'd managed to make it up to an outdoor clothing store. Whilst Glenn focussed on lining his new ginormous camping rucksack with food, I'd grabbed a few pairs of hiking boots for the children and assorted camping tools for my own rucksack but we'd gotten spooked at the crowds of walkers building up outside.

"Okay." Morales parked the truck beside the chain-link fence we'd gashed a hole into last time. "Georgia, T-Dog, Glenn, pharmacy team. Andrea, Merle and I, sport store. We know our priorities, let's get it done, dive in, and dive out."

We found the pharmacy with relative ease, and began to investigate the best method of sneaking in. I tapped on the shutter and we collectively paused, listening for any inhabitants. It appeared that the coast was clear; cautiously still we raised the shutter and crawled inside. Light was streaming in from the back window but the majority of the store was bathed in a dusky darkness, reducing us to flashlights. The store wasn't particularly large, 3 cramped aisles and a locked dispenser behind the register.  
"T, see if you can work with that? What we need is most definitely hiding in there" I pointed at the dispenser. "Glenn, start grabbing the dressings, anything else that looks helpful."

I made a beeline for the women's aisle and swept the entire shelf of tampons and towels into my rucksack, squashing them down to the bottom. I took a half-hearted swipe of the prenatal vitamins too; I couldn't hold the baby responsible for landing such top-notch parents, before returning over to Glenn to add in a bunch of snacks. Upon returning to the register, prepared to aid in battering the dispenser open, we found T-Dog rifling through it.

"Keys were in it." He chuckled.

After stuffing the majority of its contents into T-Dog's rucksack and feeling rather chuffed with our spoils, I whispered "Okay. That'll be us for a while, I reckon."

"Let's find the-" Glenn's face fell flat as he was interrupted by the sound of gun fire. Periodic shots were ringing out from our immediate area, just outside the mall.

"What the-" I couldn't finish my sentence before we scarpered out to find the others.

We scaled up the rigid escalator to the sports store and were met by Andrea and Morales.

"What the hell is that?!" Andrea looked freaked.

"Where is Merle?" Glenn pained out.

We ran over to the windows to watch a man fall off his horse and scramble into a tank.

"Oh shit!" I sighed out. "He made it!"

"What's the cracker's plan now?" T-Dog exclaimed.

"We have to help him!" Glenn uttered.

"What? We don't know him!" Andrea called after him.

"And that matters why?" Glenn sprinted back down the escalator and burst through a side door. We all saw no alternative but to follow our friend.

"I'm back; got a guest plus four geeks in the alley!" Glenn panted over the radio.

"Guys! NOW!" Morales and T-Dog slammed out into the alley in their new padding and crushed the walkers with their brand new baseball bats. Glenn and the stranger bolted inside, he was wearing a sheriff's outfit…a King County Sheriff's Uniform…I froze in place. Rick hadn't seen me yet and it seemed he wouldn't get the chance to.

"You son of a bitch! We ought to kill you!" Andrea slammed into the stranger, her gun pointed at his face.

"Just chill out Andrea! Back off!" Morales called out, emerging from his heavy-duty padding.

"Oh my god, ease up a goddamn minute." I tentatively approached her and Rick's eyes fell on me.

"Ease up? You're kidding me right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole!" Andrea scorned.

"Andrea. I said back the hell off." I stood my ground.

Rick rushed towards me and we embraced, welling up. Was this some cruel, cruel joke? I couldn't understand that this man was standing before me. I had so many questions.

She dropped her arm finally in defeat, "You know this jackass?"

Rick wiped my tears away; he had the widest grin on his face. "Peach" was all he could utter.

"Yeah" I grinned "This is Lori's husband. This is Carl's dad."

Everyone collectively inhaled and Rick staggered, looking around the room, "They're with you? They're alright?"

"Back at camp" I beamed. "Yeah! Oh my god, this is a miracle, we thought you were dead!"

"Hey, I hate to break up the reunion. Touching, really! But WE are dead, all of us, because of you." Andrea spat and stormed away.

"I don't understand." Rick uttered.

"Look." Morales grabbed Rick by the arm over to the window "We came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out! Tiptoeing! Not shooting up the street."

"Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds!" T-Dog exclaimed.

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea scoffed.

"Get the picture now?" Morales grilled the newcomer.

Rick and I didn't have another second to speak. The build-up of walkers was hammering down on the shop doors. Cracks were beginning to lace the windows.

"Oh god!" Andrea led us back as the window's integrity rapidly deteriorated.

"What the hell were you doing out there anyway?" I asked him.

"Trying to flag the helicopter." Rick uttered.

"You full of crap man, ain't no damn helicopters." T-Dog sneered.

"You were chasing a hallucination, imaging it, these things happen-" Morales interjected.

"I saw it." Rick stood his ground.

"T-Dog, try that C.B. Try contacting the others." I nudged his elbow.

"Others? Lori?" Rick looked around "The refugee centre?"

"Yeah! The refugee centre. They got biscuits waiting in the oven for us." I snorted half-heartedly.

"Got no signal. Maybe the roof?" T-Dog sighed.

A shotgun blast shook the room. It radiated from the top of the building.

"Oh no, was that Dixon?" Andrea sprinted out of the room towards the stairs.

"Come on, let's go!" Glenn ushered the new guy.

We clambered up the concrete stairs, many, many stairs. Goddammit, we leave the cretin alone for 2 minutes!

"Hey Dixon! Are you crazy?!" Morales shouted.

Merle was perched at the very edge of the roof, rifle in hand, laughing to himself. He fired another shot and I shuddered at the reverb.

"Hey, hey, hey! You outta be more polite to a man with a gun!" He waved the rifle around like it was nothing. "Huh? Only common sense?" He jumped down from his perch and reloaded the rifle.

"You're wasting bullets we ain't even got, man!" T-Dog and Merle got into a heated fight. Merle wasn't just being his usual racist self; he was calling out all the stops. Rick glanced at Glenn and I, Glenn shook his head and hands in embarrassment, indicating to stay out of it for now. It didn't take too much of his disgusting slurs to provoke T-Dog into hitting him. They descended into a fistfight. Rick tried to intervene and got smacked down. Everyone was shouting at Merle to stop hitting T. Before we knew it, a gun was pointed in T-Dog's face. Everyone froze up.

"No, no, no! Please!" I cried out.

Merle merely spat on T-Dog, rubbed it into his shirt and rose up "Alright, yeah, we gonna have ourselves a little pow-wow, huh? Talk about who's in charge. I vote me, anybody else?" We dragged T-Dog over to us as Merle waved his gun about in front of us. I dropped down to tend to him; it looked like a broken rib or two.

"Huh? Democracy time y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favour? Come on let's see em!"

Morales raised his hand tentatively.

"Oh come on." Andrea scoffed.

"All in favour." Merle chuckled as I raised the middle finger towards him. "Yeah that's good. Now that means I'm the boss right? Now…anybody else hmm?"

I saw Rick approach him with a sunken "Yeah." And smack him in the head with the butt of the rifle. Merle fell down like a sack of potatoes much in the same manner he'd done at Daryl's hand. Rick cuffed him to the air conditioning piping and dragged him up to meet his face.

"Who the hell are you man?" Merle spat, dazed and confused.

"Officer Friendly." Rick seethed in his face "Now look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore; no dumb-as-shit, inbred, white-trash fools neither. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together not apart."

"Screw you, man."

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point"

"Yeah, well, screw you twice."

"You outta be polite to a man with a gun, only common sense." Rick shoved his pistol into Merle's temple.

"You wouldn't, you're a cop."

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody gets in the way of that's gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that." Rick rummaged through Merle's pockets before tossing what looked like drugs off the rooftop to which Merle bellowed out "Hey man that's my stuff!"

"How's that signal?" Morales asked.

"Like Dixon's brain…weak." T-Dog coughed.

"Keep trying." Morales exhaled.

"Why? There's not a damn thing they can do. Not a damn thing." Andrea sprung daggers on Rick and stormed away from us.

"We're camped outside the city, there's no refugee centre. It's just a pipe dream." Morales informed him.

"That means she's right. We're on our own. Up to us to find a way out." Rick scoured the streets.

"Good luck with that. These streets and this part of town ain't safe from what I hear." Merle scoffed and turned his attention to Andrea. "Ain't that right sugar-tits? Hey! Honey buns! Whatcha say you get me outta these cuffs, we go off somewhere, bump some uglies? Gonna die anyway."

"I'd rather." Andrea replied.

"Rug-munchers; figured as much. Just like that one." Merle winked at me.

"The streets ain't safe. Now there's an understatement." Morales scoffed.

"What about under the streets? The sewers?" Rick inquired.

"Oh man. Hey, Glenn, check the alley." Morales called over to Glenn, "You see any man-hole covers?"

"No, must be out on the streets where the geeks are."

"What about the basement of this building?"

We left T-Dog and Merle on the roof and made our way down to the maintenance room.

"This is it?" Morales "You're sure?"

"I scoped this building out all the other times I was here, this is the only way that leads down." Glenn "But I've never gone down it. Who'd want to, right?"

Everyone lifted their heads towards Glenn.

"Oh. Great."

"We'll be right behind you." Andrea encouraged him gently.

"No you won't, not you."

"Why not me? Think I can't?" Andrea squared up to him.

"Speak your mind." Rick patted Glenn's shoulder.

"Look. Until now, I always came here by myself. Even with Georgia, we were in and out, grabbed a few things, no problem. First time I bring a group; everything goes to hell." Glenn ranted "No offence! If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine. But only if we do it my way. It's tight down there. If I need to get out quick I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one person."

Rick edged forwards.

"Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store, watching the doors, covering our ass. You've got the only other gun so you should go with him." He pointed at Andrea and then at me. "You be my wingman. Morales stay up here too. If anything happens, yell and get us back up here in a hurry."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Everybody knows their jobs." Rick patted Glenn on the shoulder.

Glenn turned to me with a blank look on his face. I met his eyes and nodded firmly before following him down the ladder. Our feet met the bottom with a little splatter noise. Glenn exhaled loudly.

"Cool kicks." I pointed at Glenn's converse and then towards mine. He returned my smile before leading the way down the pitch black tunnel. We heard rats scurrying about and squealing at our feet. I shuddered as one brushed against my foot.

"Yeuch" I heard Glenn mutter.

Glenn attempted to shove the end door open but it ended up being a two-man job. The door gurned open under our collective weight. The squeaking of the rats was drowned out by my heart pounding away in my ears. It was so dark and dank we couldn't see too far in front of us. Our flashlights were darting about haphazardly before we stumbled upon our stinky freedom.

"Yeah. We definitely have ourselves a sewer tunnel." I covered my mouth and nose with my flannel shirt, not that it really helped. "Can we cut through that?"

"If we had a blow-torch and half a day? Sure." Glenn sighed "Those hack-saws sure as hell won't do it."

The grumbling was quiet at first but still distinct. Then the moan as the walker dropped his rat appetiser into the filthy water and slammed against the tunnel gate, desperately clawing for us. Glenn and I both jumped back and shouted profanities.

"An additional slice of hell no!" I panted.

We scrambled back on ourselves and scaled the ladder, returning to the entryway, the walkers had penetrated the first set of glass doors and were well on their way through the second.

"What did you find down there?" Rick asked with his gun lined up.

"It's not a way out." I said flatly.

"Then we need to find one. Soon!" Andrea whined.

We reconvened on the roof to the futile news our radio calls had gone unanswered.

"That construction site, those trucks, they always keep keys on hand." Rick pointed out.

"We'll never make it past the walkers." Morales shot his idea down.

"You got me outta that tank." Rick turned to Glenn.

"Yeah but they were feeding, they were distracted." Glenn exasperated.

"Can we distract them again?" Rick raised his eyebrow.

"If bad ideas were Olympic sports, this'd take the gold." Glenn

"He's right. Take some time to think this through." Morales

"How much time? They already got through one set of doors. That glass won't hold forever." Rick tossed gloves and overalls at us.

Rick and Morales dragged a dead walker from the back alley into the building. We were all kitted out in protective worker wear and rubber gloves, standing over the dead body, just staring at it. Rick swung at the body with a fire axe but careered off last second. He dropped his helmet and axe abruptly and bent down towards the body, searching it feverishly. He wrestled a wallet from the body and rifled through it.

"Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license…born in 1979. He had $28 in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl." He turned the picture over and sighed. "With love, from Rachel. He used to be like us; worrying about bills or the rent or the Super Bowl. If I get back to my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne." Rick rose up and nestled his helmet back on.

"One more thing." Glenn spoke up and rotated his license "He's an organ donor."

Rick hacked up the body. I thought surgery would have given me a stronger stomach but there are limits. Glenn gagged and wretched in the corner. "Oh god, so gross."

Rick, Glenn and I were wiped down with the guts. Glenn vomited all over the floor as the others draped intestines over us. "Don't get it in your skin or your eyes!" Rick commanded.

"Oh this is bad!" Glenn whined "Oh this is really bad!"

"Think about something else." I closed my eyes.

"Puppies and kittens." Rick uttered.

"Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog scoffed.

Glenn proceeded to empty his stomach for a final time.

The warehouse door creaked open and the three of us emerged. I tried to suppress the fact feet and hands were dangling around my neck. Someone's severed hands. My heart thumped audibly against my chest reminding me of its presence. We smelt so rancid. It hit the back of my throat like acid. Or maybe that was my stomach bile making an appearance.

We shuffled down the alley, gripping on to our weapons tightly; Glenn shuddered with his crowbar, Rick flinched with his axe and I trembled with ice picks from the camping store. I wondered what the ice picks were actually called; were they just called ice picks? Was there an official name for them? This was probably not the best time to be musing over this. Stop thinking about ice picks, Georgia.

We shimmied ourselves slowly under the bus blocking our path and continued down the street.

"It's gonna work. I can't believe it." Glenn nervously shuddered.

"Don't. Draw. Attention." Rick uttered.

Glenn made a mumbling groan to deter a walker that got a little too close for comfort. To be honest, anything closer than a mile was too close for comfort. We were right in the centre of the pack; they were in arms reach at all times.

The heavy Georgia sun faded out rapidly and the low rumble signalled the rain's impending arrival.

"Shit." I winced as the first drop splattered my cheek.

As the heavens opened the glazed-over eyes all descended towards us, one after another. Their shuffling stalled and their courses were slowly being redirected.

"The smells washing off, isn't it? Is it washing off?!" Glenn panicked.

"No, it's not." I uttered, under my breath, as if by pure will, the rain would avoid us.

"Well, maybe." Rick axed a charging walker in the face.

"SHIT!" I jumped out of the dispatched walker's way.

"RUN!" Glenn hollered.

We sprinted towards the chain-link fence; we only had one shot at this jump! Thankfully, we all successfully clamoured over and dropped down. I pretty much launched myself over and slammed down on to my knees on the landing. Rick pulled me to my feet and cleared some ground between us and the fence. We spun around to face the mob, pulling our guns from our waistbands. I followed Rick's lead and used Olivia's gun to shoot down the walkers scaling the fence, buying us some more time.

"Rick!" Glenn tossed the keys to Rick and we broke away. Glenn ripped open the truck door and dove over the passenger seat with incredible haste.

"They're coming!" I called as slammed the door closed. Two walkers had already scaled and began trudging our way.

"Go! Go! Go!" Glenn clung on between our seats.

Rick veered the truck backwards, slamming through a fence and we sped away.

"God, they're all over that place!" Glenn cried out.

"You need to draw them away, those roll-up doors at the front of the store, that's what I need clear. Radio your friends; tell them to be down there." Rick was cool and collected; my nerves steadied themselves in his presence. Walking through a crowd of walkers was nothing, and whatever we needed to do next was just as possible.

"Draw the geeks away? HOW? I think I missed that part?" Glenn cradled the radio.

"Noise" I turned to Rick who smirked and nodded in response.

It didn't take long to find the perfect abandoned car. Glenn perked up a little at our choice of motor.

"They teach car-jacking in the academy?" My joke was met with a chuckle through Glenn's covered ears and a raised eyebrow from Rick. Okay, perhaps not the time for humorous observations.

"Your brother's gonna kill me." Rick chuckled.

"Get me back in one piece; I guess you'll be even." I patted his shoulder and we went our separate ways.

"Those roll up doors at the front of the store facing the street, meet us there! Be ready!" I ordered over the radio.

Glenn veered the car smoothly to overtake Rick's van and sauntered down the street outside the department store. Walkers took next to no time building on top of our ride.

"Glenn." I uttered as I clutched my sole remaining ice pick, Rick's van had bumbled down the alleyway to its destination and successfully out of our sight.

"Come on, come on." He reversed the car painfully slowly down the street as more and more walkers were drawn towards the howling alarm. "We need as many as we caaan…"

"Glenn!" My voice grew stronger.

"That's it!" He spun the car round swiftly and we were on our way. The car swerved side to side, darting through the streets of Atlanta, heading for that freeway. The look on Glenn's face was borderline maniacal as our speed increased exponentially at that open road freedom. I laughed at the pure unadulterated joy radiating from my friend.

"Wa-hoooo! Weeee-hooo!" He cried out. I couldn't help but join him as we rapidly descended upon the van, we needed to relish in this win; I drummed the window down and hung my head haphazardly out the window as we overtook them:

"Waaaa-hoooo!"


	10. Chapter 10: Reunion

"Holy crap. Turn that damn thing off!" Dale yelled as an ecstatic Glenn bounced out of the driver's seat. It took a minute for his words to process through the ringing. This was the perfect way to get tinnitus, I can tell you that much.

"I don't know how!" Glenn replied as he raised his arms up to the skies.

"My ears have gone to shot." I shouted over, rubbing the sides of my head.

Shane commanded me to pop the hood whilst Amy feverishly harassed Glenn for answers regarding Andrea's wellbeing. Everyone was shouting over each other as I scrambled over to the driver's seat and fulfilled his request. The popping vein in Shane's head indicated his was the voice I should home in on.

"She's okay! She's okay!" Glenn yelled at Amy as Shane yanked a wire out from under the hood and the blaring alarm stopped dead. The silence was dwarfed by Amy's plague of questions.

"Is she coming back?" Amy cried out.

"Yes!" I shouted, and then recoiled with embarrassment at having shouted.

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?" She questioned.

"Yes! Yeah, fine. Everybody is." I shook her shoulders to get through to her.

"Well, Merle not so much." Glenn answered and shot me back an awkward glance. Oh god, how to explain what happened to Merle?

"Are you crazy?! Driving this wailing bastard up here?" Shane barked

"We're not! I don't even know how to say this-" I started, a huge grin spread across my face. How do I begin to deliver this news…or do I wait for the big reveal?

"Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?" Shane persisted, dicing my jovial mood.

"I think we're okay." Dale said.

"You call being stupid okay?" Shane replied, turning to Dale.

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pin point the source." Shane gave him a look, "I'm not arguing. I'm just saying." Dale said before turning to Glenn, "It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"

"Sorry. I got a cool car." Glenn replied with a dopey grin plastered across his face.

Just as the lecture tailed off the store van parked up behind the church mini-van. The door opened and Andrea stumbled out, "Amy!"

"Andrea!" Amy cried as they were reunited.

Everyone else came out gradually and was greeted warmly. I beckoned Hannah to come down from the RV.

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked as he hung his beefy arm around my neck.

"New guy- he got us out." I answered coyly.

"New guy?"

"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town." Morales said before looking at the van, "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello."

We all watched as a man in a cop uniform walked toward us and I saw Shane freeze.

"Oh my god" He whispered as his arm dropped from around my neck.

"Dad!" Carl yelled before running toward the cop.

Carl's dad picked him up before walking over to Lori and the three of them embraced. Massive smiles were plastered all over the camp's faces. Their joy was beautiful.

"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion, all those things but... disoriented comes closest." Rick said as we sat around the camp fire, captivated by the miracle before us. The adrenaline rush from earlier had simmered down and I was finally taking in some answers.

"Words can be meagre things. Sometimes they fall short." Dale replied.

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever." Rick said.

"Mom said you died." Carl said, looking up at his dad.

"She had every reason to believe that." Rick replied. "Don't you ever doubt it."

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." Lori told Rick.

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun." Rick replied.

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane responded. My eyes were stuck on him, the way he picked relentlessly at a single blade of grass; he couldn't hold eye contact with Rick for more than a second. I could only imagine what was racing through my brother's head. On one hand, his best friend, the man who'd been more a brother to him than his own kin, had returned from the presumed dead; on the other hand, his new life had been royally shaken up. It looked as if Lori was settling down to business as usual from under Rick's arm.

"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane." Rick said, "I can't begin to express it."

"There go those words falling short again." I smiled and Dale added. "Paltry things"

We were all quiet until Shane finally spoke up, "Hey, Ed, you wanna rethink that log?"

"It's cold, man." Ed answered.

"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said its cold." Ed repeated. "You should mind your own business for once."

Shane stood up and strode over to Ed with purpose. I chuckled to myself, well, he's not wrong about that. They had a confrontation which resulted in Carol scurrying to pull the log away. Shane made his was back over and nudged me on the shoulder,

"Rick said you held your own back there." He uttered.

I looked up and nodded, "Learnt from the best."

"'just don't want you in the line of fire, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I get it. But you don't have to worry about me." I patted his hand on my shoulder and he returned to his original spot around our fire. That was mighty big of him, a borderline admittance he was in the wrong, and had underestimated me. It wasn't much, but I took it.

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked when he sat down. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog said.

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick replied.

"It's hardly a competition." I poked the fire to keep it smouldering.

"Yeah and I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy." Glenn said.

"I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him." T-Dog said.

"We could lie." Amy suggested.

"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." Andrea replied before looking at Lori, oh if she only knew the half of it, "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."

"And that's what we tell Daryl? I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?" Dale questioned. "Word to the wise, we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it." T-Dog uttered.

"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked T-Dog.

"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Stair case is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at one time. It's not enough to break through that- not that chain. Not that padlock. My point- Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed to that roof. That's on us." T-Dog said. T-Dog's words made me shudder and pull Hannah in closer to me. Merle Dixon was to just starve, handcuffed to a roof? That was no way for anyone to go out.

"I think maybe Georgia should tell Daryl." Amy commented.

"Why her?" Kim's head almost did a 180 and buried her furrowed eyes into my face. The entire camp had turned to me.

"Besides Merle, Daryl's closest to her." Amy answered.

"Ha! Heap of shit you're talking there, darlin'." Kim stood up, abruptly with an agitated air surrounding her. "I reckon the mother of his child should be the one calming him down, don't you?"

I sighed, "Don't matter whose mouth it comes from, he'll be pissed either way."

"Sorry, mother of his child?" Lori raised her hand in contention.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm having Daryl Dixon's baby." Kim said plainly but with that ever present hint of smugness. "And the good doctor here is supposedly helping me out."

"You knew there was a goddamn walker-magnet on the way?" Shane set his plate down, coldly and wiped his hands on his trousers.

"Wasn't mine to tell." I uttered out in a small voice.

"A little heads up woulda been nice, George." He raised his tone over mine.

I stood up without saying a word and took Hannah's hand, brushing passed Lori. I didn't even need to gesture to Ethan, he'd followed us regardless back to our tent. I didn't deserve any of this heat; this had nothing to do with me! It wasn't my damn secret to tell. It wasn't my damn vagina and it wasn't my damn boyfriend!


	11. Chapter 11: Some explaining to do

The next morning I stood supportively beside Glenn, trying my very best to stifle a laugh. Some of the men were taking his beloved Charger apart, stripping it down to the bone. The morning felt a lot lighter than the night before.

"Look at them." Glenn said as Rick arrived on the other side of him, "Vultures. Yeah, go on, strip it clean."

"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get." Dale replied, "Got no power without it. Sorry Glenn."

"I just thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days." Glenn sighed, heavily.

"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday." Rick replied, patting him on the back before walking over to his wife.

"Hey, you may have never even had the opportunity to drive one at all!" I said patting his arm warmly.

"Yay, apocalypse!" he sighed sarcastically as I chuckled and strolled away, leaving him to wallow in his grief.

"Water's here, y'all; just a friendly reminder to boil before use." Shane said after driving his jeep here with a few barrels of water from the quarry. "George, can I get a minute?"

Oh great, here comes sergeant steroids' righteous words of the day. Ironic, knowing what I know now. Or really, knowing what I assume now, based on little to no proof…

"Look, I'm sorry about last night." He uttered quietly, looking around first. Did I just hear him right? "I was just a little stunned at that announcement; puts an awkward conversation on the table, that's all. Hopefully won't even be an issue, Daryl takes his old lady to hunt down his cretin of a brother and they live happily ever after, far away from here."

I merely stood there, arms folded across my chest, I didn't say a thing.

"Don't worry about it." He patted my shoulder lightly.

His hand had just fallen down when we heard the kid's screams.

"Mom! Dad!"

It was Carl. And Ethan was with Carl! And Hannah was with Ethan! I ran behind Rick and Lori until we reached the other kids. Ethan was sprinting up with Hannah in hand.

"Are you alright?" I asked Ethan, looking him over.

He nodded as I embraced them tightly.

"We're fine, Georgia." He whispered as I walked them back over to camp. Lori called me over to her son; I pulled my long brown hair up into a pony tail and checked him out. Carl had cut up his elbow a little, which I quickly cleaned out and tended to. He said there was a walker eating a deer, and that's why they were screaming. They were lucky it was too busy eating; otherwise the situation could've ended up horrifically. The realisation gave me chills; we hadn't seen a single walker up this far to date. This was a huge problem.

It wasn't long before Daryl made an appearance, trudging into camp. It was go time.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!"

I left Carl on the crate and stood up.

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to ya." Shane said.

"About what?" Daryl asked.

Everyone looked to Kim, she was freaking miles away leant against the RV, eyes burrowed to the ground. So much for her fighting-talk last night. Daryl turned back to face me. Oh yeah, everyone knows you're a baby daddy too, but one thing at a time, eh?

"About Merle" I answered, "There was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?" Daryl asked.

"We're not sure." I replied.

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl yelled and I flinched.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said, walking up to Daryl, placing himself firmly between us.

"Who are you?" Daryl questioned.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" Daryl asked.

"Your brother was a danger to us all." Rick replied, "So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there." OKAY! Straight to the point, rip off the band aid!

"Hold on. Let me process this." Daryl said, wiping his eyes, "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

"Yeah"

Daryl threw his squirrels at Rick, which he dodged with ease. Shane full-on body-checked him to the ground and Daryl unsheathed his knife. Well, that went exactly as expected.

"Watch the knife!" T-Dog hollered.

After swinging ferociously towards Rick, Shane grabbed Daryl, getting him in a choke hold.

"Best let me go!" Daryl yelled.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replied.

"Chock hold's illegal."

"You can file a complaint." Shane responded, "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" When Daryl didn't answer Rick repeated the questioned, "Do you think you can manage that?"

Shane let him go and stepped back. The entire camp was now watching the show.

"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick told Daryl.

"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog said.

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked.

"Well, I dropped it in a drain." T-Dog answered.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't!"

"Maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him. With a padlock." T-Dog replied.

"It's gotta count for something." Rick commented.

Daryl wiped his eyes again, "Hell with all y'all. Just tell him where he is so's I can go get 'im."

"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori replied, stepping up to the plate from behind us.

"I'm going back." Rick sighed.

"I don't get it Rick? So could you just- could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?" Shane asked Rick desperately. He knew full well why, he knew this man.

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl interrupted.

"No, I did." Shane replied, "Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon- the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst- me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way of anything to die, let alone a human being." Rick said.

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked.

Rick turned around to where Glenn and I were standing, with a look of desperation on his face. Given my past experience with the "man", I struggled to drum up any motivation whatsoever to rescue him. But…I suppose he was a human being, a shitty one at that, but Rick did have an iota of a point. I exhaled audibly and Glenn sighed, "Oh, come on."

"Like hell you're asking my sister to back to that shit storm." Shane seethed. Evidently our discussion from last night had gone out the window, well, it was fun whilst it lasted.

"Y'all know the way. You've been there before, in and out, no problem. You said so yourself." Rick said. "It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would, too."

"Georgia ain't going." Shane enunciated every syllable. There was no budging here, not for this cause.

"I'll go." Glenn sighed.

"That's great. So you're gonna risk three men, huh?" Shane scoffed.

"Four." T-Dog said.

Daryl scoffed, "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-Dog asked.

"Why you?" Daryl questioned.

"You wouldn't even to begin to understand. You don't speak my language." T-Dog answered.

"That's four. It's not just four. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back? We need every able body we got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp." Shane said.

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns." Rick replied.

"Right, the guns." Glenn perked up.

"Wait, what guns?" Shane questioned.

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen hand guns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up." Rick answered.

"Ammo?" Shane voice peaked.

"700 rounds, assorted." Rick replied.

"You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori asked.

"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl said.

"To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in." Lori continued. Rick walked over to her as she cried out, "Tell me. Make me understand."

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stopping you?" Lori asked.

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer." Rick answered.

"These are our walkies?" Shane asked.

"Yeah."

"So use the C.B. What's wrong with that?" Andrea questioned.

"The C.B's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap. Date back to the 70's, don't match any other bandwidth- not even the scanners in our cars." Shane answered.

"I need that bag." Rick told Lori before going to Carl, "Okay?"

"Alright." Carl replied.

I hugged Glenn before he bumbled on toward the van; my heart sunk to my chest and wondered whether I'd see them again. I turned to Daryl as he brushed past me, "Be careful." He nodded. He tensed up as if to say something before he stormed onwards.


	12. Chapter 12: Tell It to the Frogs

Andrea, Jacqui, Carol, and I headed to go down to the quarry to wash clothes. The children were splashing about in the water as we worked at the shore. I was glad to have a menial task to take my mind off of things. I'm not a patient person, and although the guys had only been gone mere moments, my mind had already begun to race. A few yards away from our position, Shane and Carl were trying to catch frogs. Shane was splashing around in the water as Carl chuckled with a giant net on the shore. They looked like they were having an awesome time.

"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui quipped.

"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Andrea scoffed.

Carol answered and sighed. "It's just the way it is. I do miss my Maytag."

"I miss my Benz, my Sat Nav." Andrea said.

"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey." Jacqui replied.

I looked around to make sure the kids were out of earshot, "I miss my vibrator."

"Oh!" They looked at me and laughed.

Carol looked back at Ed before turning to us, "Me too."

We all laughed louder and Ed walked over to us, "What's so funny?"

"We're just swapping war stories, Ed." Andrea answered.

Ed didn't go back to his car, just stood there, smoking his cigarette, watching us.

"Problem, Ed?" I asked.

"Nothin' that concerns you, junior." He answered before looking at Carol, "And you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club."

Andrea huffed and stood up, "Tell you what, Ed, you don't like how your laundry's done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here."

She tossed a shirt and Ed caught it before chucking it back at Andrea with amplified force, "Ain't my job, missy."

"What is your job, Ed?" I asked, walking next to Andrea, "Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" My heart was raging with pent up anger. Something about Andrea's sense of self-worth stirred me up alongside her. Ed reminded me of a certain someone I'd sworn off a long time ago, for the exact same reason.

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. I don't recall electing the Walsh's our supreme leaders?! Tell you what," He looked at Carol, "Come on. Let's go."

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed." Andrea said.

"And I say it's none of your business. Come on now. You heard me." Ed replied.

"Carol." I grabbed her arm.

"Georgia, please, it doesn't matter." Carol said.

"Hey," Ed said to me, turning me around, "don't think I won't knock you on your ass, just 'cause you're some college-educated bimbo, all right? Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later."

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them." Jacqui asked.

Ed laughed, "Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on."

We started arguing and pulling Carol back, "You don't tell me what! I tell you what!"

I stepped in front of Carol to get her away from Ed. He grew an alarming shade of red before he punched me square on the cheek. Andrea and Jacqui unleashed themselves, hitting and slapping him as Carol pulled me away. I watched as Shane stormed out of nowhere and dragged Ed away hollering "GET OFF ME!"

Andrea and Jacqui shielded a bawling Carol as I caressed my cheek; his meaty fist mark stung like a bitch. I felt Hannah hugging my legs as Shane beat the shit out of Ed; she must've run over during the commotion.

"Shane, stop!" We all started yelling for Shane to stop, he was taking it too far. Nothing about the shade of Ed's face was satisfying to me.

"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else in this camp one more time; I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!" Shane yelled into Ed's face.

"Yes." He groaned feebly.

"I'll beat you to death, Ed." Shane said before punching Ed and kicking him one more time before storming off and leaving us to it. He had a manic look in his eyes, scratching his head and panting fiercely. Carol ran over to Ed, crying out her apologies. I wrapped Hannah up in a towel before picking her up and leaving the scene long behind.

"That was stupid." Ethan carried all of our things up the path with us.

"Yeah, not our finest moment" I winced.

I made my way, solo, up to the nearby shaded creek and dipped a rag in the icy water. The forest canopy kept the water a lot chillier than the exposed quarry pool. Immediately pressing the sodden rag against my cheekbone was stingy at first but then ultimate rush of cooling relief. I audibly exhaled "Fuck yeah"

"Running your mouth get you in trouble again doc?" Kim snickered from behind me. I stumbled, caught off guard at her silent approach.

"Jesus, Kim! You scared me." I rang the excess water out of the rag and turned to face her, "What do you want?"

"I was under the impression there was an understanding? Daryl told me you were gonna ya know, do your job?" Her hands were planted firmly on her hips. Her attitude was already irritating me; the physical pain on my face was dwarfed by this pain in my ass. I choked back any retort, rising above her.

"How far along are you?" I replaced the rag on my cheek and nodded for her to follow me back to camp.

"You're the doctor. How am I supposed to know?" she rejected my relatively basic question. Well, this wasn't going to be a ball ache at all…

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to her, tilting my head. "Southern Sex Ed left out a chapter or two huh?"

She rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Okay, when was your last period? When did it start?" I repressed the desire to speak one syllable at a time. Just give her all the basics, Georgia, then she may leave you the hell alone, win-win.

"Maybe 2 months ago"

"Well there's your answer." I continued on back to camp. "You're taking those pre-natals I nabbed from the pharmacy?"

"Every day, like clockwork" she strutted directly beside me, which was onerous to say the least.

"Well then, make sure you're eating enough and just take it easy, ain't really anything else for you at this point. If you'd come to me sooner, we could've maybe sorted it out, would no longer be a problem." I levelled with her.

"If you're talking about abortion, I don't believe in it."

"I don't think this world caters to our beliefs anymore, my friend." I sighed.

"Do you think Shane will throw us out?"

We had reached the forest entrance by the time she dropped this awkward bombshell. I popped the damp rag down on top of the nearest car; it had served its purpose, now warmed up after exposure to my face. I leant my back up against the car and folded my arms, "I was under the impression you two were eloping off into the night? Live out your romantic family fairy tale? Well with Merle tagging along too."

"As much as I would love to take my man miles away from you and these people-"

"Have I done something to you, Kim?"

"You've done nothing but disrespect me since you met me! You know I don't like that name. And I've seen the way you look at him, further disrespecting me!"

I stifled a chuckle as best as I honestly could, it tickled in my throat, "I'm sorry, Kimberly. Not entirely sure that warrants you behaving like a total bitch but I won't call you that anymore, and as for Daryl? I'm really not interested in a freakin' duel to the death over a hillbilly redneck. In case you haven't noticed, there is much more important shit to be worried about. Ya know, dead people eating people? Preventing the dead people from eating our people?"

"You don't want me as your enemy, honey; it won't end well for you. You ain't even denied it yet, thinking you can take whatever you want from yer pedestal up there." Her eyes bore into mine.

"Did you just threaten me?" I stood up off the car, in a firm stance.

"You're saying nothing happened? All those times disappearing into the woods together?" her voice tailed off as I rose up towards her.

"I have children to provide for. I need to get better at hunting. I'm sure you'll develop these concerns yourself soon enough." I replied monotonously, not humouring her one bit.

"If you've looked into my eyes, woman to woman, and denied it then I'll have to believe you."

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"I don't have to like you very much but my baby needs protection and you have the skills to do so. You don't have to like me very much but I hope you won't take your hatred out on an innocent baby and you'll back us up when it comes to that conversation."

And with that, Kim sauntered away. It sounded as if she'd rehearsed her little piece and spent half the day building up the courage to confront me. Her shallow words swished around my mind like the final few drops of a hearty Merlot.

I scaled the RV and took up stance beside Dale. Hannah and her brother were set up just below us.

"You seem to be making a habit of that look." Dale motioned towards my reddened face.

"Just a little case of wrong place, wrong time" I sighed, exhausted at constantly lying.

"What did she want? Saw her sauntering after you, thought twice about following for back up."

"I can handle her, Dale, don't you worry."

"You want to talk about it?" Dale surveyed the horizon.

"I'd very much like to forget about it." I sighed, taking in the view. It was a truly beautiful afternoon.

"Alrighty, do you mind taking watch for a while?" Dale asked me.

"No problem." I replied, taking the binoculars and the gun from Dale.

"Thanks." He replied before going down the ladder.

After plonking myself down under the umbrella, I followed Dale with the binoculars as he headed out towards the hilltop. I saw Jim was…digging? What was he doing? It was really hot out; he must be tired and hella thirsty. My investigation was cut short by Amy and Andrea returning to camp with a bundle of fish.

"Oh, baby. Will you look at that?" Morales said, walking over and relieving them. "Ladies... because of you my children will eat tonight. Thank you."

"Thank Dale. It's his canoe and gear." Andrea replied.

"Mom, look! Look at all the fish." Carl said. "Whoa."

"Yeah whoa! Where did you two learn to do that?" Lori asked.

"Our dad" Amy answered.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Ethan asked. "And…err, ya know teach all of us how to do that, I meant."

"Sure. I can teach you all about nail knots and stuff. If that's okay?" Amy replied and turned to me.

"You won't catch me arguing." I answered down from the top of the RV.

I looked over and saw Dale heading back over to us.

"Hey Dale! When's the last time you oiled those line reels? They are a disgrace." Andrea joked

"I, uh, I don't want to alarm anyone, but we may have a bit of a problem." Dale said.

He pointed in the direction of Jim and everyone watched the man digging away at the top of the hill.

The group decided to go up there united and see what Jim was up to. I stayed behind with the children and once they were sufficiently distracted, I took the binoculars and followed the scenes on the hilltop. I'd advised the group to get Jim into the shade and hydrated ASAP.

After only a few exchanges, Shane had body-checked Jim and they disappeared from view. Man, I guess that was his signature move? Shane eventually re-emerged, walking Jim over to a tree and tying him down to cool off.

A little while afterwards, Dale resumed his position on top of the RV. I looked in the side mirror after I'd descended and assessed the bruise on my cheek. It wasn't nearly as bad as what Ed was on the receiving end of.

Shane had doubled-back and leant against the bonnet of the RV.

"I'm sorry about that. You shouldn't have got in the middle."

"I'm not a little daisy, Shane. I'm fine."

"I know you ain't. I got too riled up. It's just, we need you. I can't have you getting hurt, especially over something so stupid."

He went to brush a stray hair away from my face but I turned away.

"You've put me in an awful position." I whispered. "What the hell were you thinkin'?! Shacking up with your best friend's wife? Rick's wife!"

"There's nothing to discuss. It's over."

"It better be." My palms were sweating as I turned to walk away from him. My heart beats were both loud and pronounced. You're okay, I kept telling myself, over and over. Confrontation was never my forte.


	13. Chapter 13: The Worst is Yet to Come

We had our best dinner to date that night, the fresh fish went down a treat. As I helped Hannah to cut hers up, Lori and I began to gossip. I'd begun to grow weary of shouldering their secret, but maintained the charade ensuring she was none the wiser.

"Did you have a boyfriend back in Boston?" she asked. Carol and Jacqui smiled at me warmly. I could feel my tell-tale cheeks begin to burn. God dammit, Lori, I'd just managed to quell the flames.

"Oh, no, I didn't really have time. No, no boyfriend there." I awkwardly stuttered.

Lori smiled, kindly, "Got a lot of offers I bet. Smart girl though, career then kids my momma always tried to tell me." I picked up on a look she'd shot Shane. It was brief, fleeting, but I could tell this was far from over. I snapped away and resigned to ignore anything and everything I picked up on. It wasn't a lie if you're completely oblivious.

"Nah, not really! Well, just the one brief thing but didn't really work out-" I began.

"Oh! But you've?" Amy had been eavesdropping and made a sexual gesture as she whispered the question.

Was it possible for your blushes to blush?

I made a gesture towards the little girl beside me, oblivious to our topic. I mouthed "seriously?" before replying, "Yes, we even held hands."

"Oh you were definitely holding hands with Jackson Parker! You had to be!" Lori piped in again, much to my dismay. Goddammit, she was not making this easy. "Georgie always had a thing for the bad boys."

"I do recall so did you?" I raised an eyebrow which cut Lori off quickly. She searched my face for any iota of evidence I was referring to what she'd hoped so desperately I wasn't. My snide comments were safe though, Lori had a past just like the rest of us, I could've been referring to any number of bachelors before Rick had made a…honest woman outta her.

Morales asked Dale about his watch and derailed our attention.

"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."

"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui said.

"I'm missing the point." Dale replied.

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while." Jacqui responded.

"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch." Morales said.

"Time- it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least?" Dale replied. "Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here."

Andrea shook her head and took a sip of her beer.

"I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment, now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it'."

"You are so weird." Amy said after a few moments of thoughtful silence and we all laughed.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe it's my bad paraphrasing." Dale replied.

Ethan yawned and I moved his hair out of his eyes, "Lori d'ya reckon this kid could get a haircut soon? I don't know how he sees where he's going."

He shook his head out of my grasp, embarrassed, "Pfft. Georgia!"

"I'd be more than happy to do it." Lori smiled and I thanked her.

Andrea abruptly questioned Amy's motion to stand up, "Where are you going?"

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here." Amy answered before walking to the RV.

"Same here" Ethan stood up to follow her. Ethan definitely had a little crush on Amy, and it was so adorable.

I was picking at the final morsels of my dinner when I heard it: Amy's blood-curdling scream was first. I whipped around and saw the walker clamping down onto her arm. I froze and stumbled up to find my feet in sheer terror, the plate shattered on the floor at my feet. I saw Ethan try to throw it off as she fell down to the ground. I saw Kim was also up that way; she stumbled back and fell onto her ass, shrieking bloody murder. Everyone erupted and started screaming.  
"GEORGIA, GET DOWN!" Shane yelled at me, firing his shotgun at the stream of walkers now flooding the camp. I ran hand in hand with Hannah after picking up a baseball bat. I swung with all my strength at the walkers that got near us. I had to break out, away from here. We were surrounded.

I shoved a piece of my shirt into Hannah's hand "Do not let go of me, baby!" I circled around checking all angles. I looked around feverishly for Ethan. I couldn't see him. Kim was still shrieking, she'd fumbled out her tiny pistol and had it pointed upwards. Someone ran between us and I lost sight of them again.

"Ethan!" I yelled.

"Georgiaaa!" my eyes fell upon him.

There was a walker coming up behind him. I could hear was my heart thumping in my ears, people shrieking out in pain both physical and visual, the haunting moans of the attacking undead. I tried to take down every last pile of rotting carcass remotely near them.

"ETHAN!" I screamed through the tears.

I watched as bullets flew. Ethan fell to his knees. We were completely surrounded.

An arrow flew into the walker that was about to take a second bite. My arms ached as I fought through; I had to get through them.

"DOC!" I heard Daryl's voice through the chaos.

He shot the walkers that were now staggering toward us; and tossed me his hand gun.

I heard my friends scream. I heard each and every one clearly. I knew the names and faces of every cry I heard. I turned sharply to see them all fall to their knees. I'd always been led to believe that everything slowed down in these moments. That was a lie. Everything was pumping, my head, and my heart. I shot down the walker devouring into one of their necks. It fell flat to the ground. They fell with it. I knew they had succumbed. My eyes were scattering across the bodies as the dust settled. The last few shots were fired. There were no more walkers. I fell to my knees beside him.

"You okay?" He coughed painfully.

I trembled and broke down inconsolably.

"Baby boy" I tried to sob. I don't know what came out.

I feverishly worked it over, ran everything over and over.

Why?

How?

Why Olivia's baby boy?

"I-I-I can fix this. You, you're gonna be okay, okay?" I feverishly tried to stop the bleeding and apply pressure. "This isn't this isn't"

"Georgia." Shane drawled behind me and touched my shoulder, I slapped his hand away.

"I need help!" I sobbed as Glenn fell to his needs opposite me; his face was sunken and helpless. He had no idea what to do, but desperately wished there was a way. Ethan's blood-drenched hand delicately took mine.

"You're okay." He sighed with great effort. "Ba-naa's okay. And Amy?"

A sole tear coursed down as I lifted his hand to my cheek and nodded as I fell into it. Ethan flinched out a brief smile. I felt Hannah's weight against my back, holding onto me fiercely. She was shaking. "We're here, Ethan." I guided Hannah from behind me; he smiled as he reached his other hand over to her but fell short and dropped suddenly. Silently. His eyes closed for the last time.

I snapped out of my fixation and without a moment's pause we embraced him.

I closed my eyes and held my hand out.

"Georgia, you do not have to." Glenn shakily whispered.

"I can-I can do it." Shane had leant down with his pistol in one hand, his head in his other.

I simply took the gun out of his hands and instructed Hannah to run over to Dale. This was my fault. It had to be me.

My eyes fell dead upon the whimpering girl, a few metres away. Kim was still sat on her arse, her gun still stuck clasped in her hands, shaking, rocking. A fiery hatred I'd never endured before erupted from my very core, it boiled and seared its way throughout my entire body. I clambered to my feet without missing a beat, stormed over, snatched the pathetic weapon out of her feeble hands and watched as they fell to the ground, along with her broken sniffles. I pointed the gun at the sky and pulled the trigger once. The shot echoed off the quarry walls and radiated throughout our silent camp. No one said a word. It was clear as the Georgia night sky, tonight. She could have done something, and she did not. I threw the gun to the side as everyone stepped a little closer, uncertain of where this rage would take me. I wanted to turn it upon her, the rage wrapped around every inch of me, but in spite of this…

"You're on your own." I hissed and returned to my nephew.

I couldn't take my eyes off the bodies. It took all the strength I could muster to drag my eyes away. I knew these people. I had laughed and joked with them only hours ago. They were dead on the ground before me. Now, they were wrapped up in sheets. Ethan lay among them.

Shane told us to get some sleep. What a nice idea, big brother. Was that the answer? Was that all it took? Carol and Sophia's tent was drenched in Ed's blood and what remained of the man, so I gave Dale's old tent to them. I sat down on the ground outside the Hyundai. Hannah was sleeping across the backseats. She'd tired herself out from sobbing. I should probably move her somewhere comfortable. She was finally asleep though. I shouldn't disturb her.

I had to drag myself away from Ethan the second I'd pulled the trigger; I couldn't look at him anymore. He was gone, and I would not forget the image. I couldn't watch Andrea slumped over Amy's dead body. I couldn't process any of this. Amy was my closest friend. I sat in silence. I was numb. My heart was aching, thumping heavily. I had failed, Livy. I had one job left on this godforsaken Earth. I had failed to keep them safe.

"You should get back to your tent." Daryl drawled, standing over me. I hadn't even heard his steps. All I was hearing was a playback of those sounds, each time honing in on a different grating scream. His face was drawn, that same look everyone else was carrying, the one I'd plaster on delivering bad news to the waiting room. So that's what it looks like…

"Sophia and Carol's tent was covered in Ed's blood. It was filled with it. Full on saturated. I let them take mine." I replied, monotonously.

He sat down next to me, silently, and ushered me to lean on his shoulder.

I kept my eyes firmly planted on the floor. Don't look around. Don't look at the blood splattered across the ground like spilt paint cans.

I'd only barely kept Hannah alive tonight. Ethan should be sat down here next to me. But he was on the other side of the cars, underneath a picnic blanket, all alone. I'd let down my guard for one moment, no matter how I phrased it, I couldn't shake the smothering guilt. I felt hollow. I wondered if I'd ever drift off and willed the night's events to be nothing more than a horrible nightmare.

Half our camp had been decimated. We lost over ten people, ten good people. Daryl wrapped his arm around me and held on tightly.


	14. Chapter 14: Cleaning Up

The next morning I jerked awake and noticed Hannah was already out of the backseat. I must've been left to sleep in; the car was already fairly humid, when did I migrate in to the front seat? I sleepily thought as I stretched the kinks out of neck. "Hannah?!" my voice was weak at first but rose another few decibels as I shook my head into reality and shouted again. I heard her small voice as I slammed the car door and made a mental note to insist she tell me before leaving my sight. I looked around at the remnants of last night. It wasn't a horrendous nightmare. This was our reality.

"A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!" I heard Jacqui yell.

I reached my girl and picked her up swiftly as the others proceeded to gather around Jim.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim muttered over and over.

"Show it to us." Daryl demanded.

Jim spun around and grabbed a shovel.

"Easy, Jim"

"Grab him!"

"Jim, put it down. Put it down right now!"

The camper's approaches to subdue Jim were varied from reason to brute force. Shane led the pack up front demanding he lay the shovel down. T-Dog ran behind him and grabbed his arms. Daryl ran over and lifted up his shirt, exposing a nasty bite mark.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Jim kept on repeating. He was looking from shocked face to shocked face, blubbering the phrase over and over, willing it to be true.

The man was sat down behind the RV whilst the group talked it over and decided a next move. Well, everyone except Andrea, who hadn't moved a single inch, and the children who were tucked away with Carol.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl said bluntly. I took a step back, his words were so cold.

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" My brother asked him uneasily.

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it." Daryl answered plainly, as if any other thinking was ludicrous.

"I hate to say it, I never thought I would, but maybe Daryl's right." Dale began.

"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." Rick cut him off harshly.

"I'm not suggesting-"

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick interrupted again.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be." Daryl replied.

I shot a toxic look Daryl's way. His words stabbed like knives, each syllable made my heart sink further into the ground. People; they were all once upon a time people. And for some that time was mere moments ago.

"What if we can get him help?" Rick asked desperately, "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

"I heard that, too, heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Shane responded.

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick questioned.

"Man, that is a stretch right there." Shane scoffed.

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they?" Rick replied. "I think it's our best shot: shelter, protection, a rescue."

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base: Fort Benning." Shane said.

"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." Lori noted.

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there." Shane finished.

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick replied. Daryl shot a glance back at Jim, his eyes fleeting between the wounded man and Rick's speech. The look in his eyes, fevered.

"You go look for aspirin, do what you need to do." Daryl spat, "Someone needs to have some balls of this damn problem!"

Daryl gathered speed towards Jim, raising the pickaxe to strike,

"Hey hey hey!" Rick yelled, pointing his gun at Daryl's head. "We don't kill the living."

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head." Daryl replied.

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down." Shane said, standing between Daryl and Jim. "Go on."

Daryl put the pickaxe down and started walking away.

"Come with me." Rick said, grabbing Jim's arm.

"Where are you taking me?" Jim asked.

"Somewhere safe"

I tentatively dropped my eyes to the floor and ran my hands through my hair, exhaling slowly. I glanced over in Hannah's direction; Carol had taken the children away without a single word. I patted the cold backs of my hands gently against my heated cheeks and made my way over to my fallen friend and her grieving sister.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, kneeling down next to her. I looked behind me and saw Dale had also walked over towards us and took his place next to me, speaking on both our behalf, "We came to pay our respects."

"Did I ever mention how I lost my wife?" Dale asked.

"Cancer, wasn't it?" Andrea answered.

"Yeah. I dragged her to every doctor, every test. And after all the surgeries and the chemos, she was ready. She accepted it, you know? But I never could. And I spent the last few years so angry. I felt so cheated. Since she passed, you girls were the first people... that I cared anything for." Dale said.

We looked at Dale and smiled, I squeezed his hand. We watched as Andrea pulled out red wrapping paper in a shape of a square.

"This is her birthday?"

Andrea nodded, "Her birthday was always like a week-long affair. But I somehow always missed it. I was away at college or too busy for kid's parties. She'd call all excited. I always said that I'd make it home and I really always meant to, but I never made it past that phone call."

"My sister-in-law, Olivia, she was always fixing for me to come home too, the kid's birthdays, plays, kindergarten graduations. Life always got in the way. We're all guilty of that but things are hard enough without adding guilt into the mix, huh?" I shakily spoke, wiping a tear away.

Dale left us alone after squeezing my shoulder. "You too." He whispered quietly.

Andrea peeled off the packaging to reveal a mermaid necklace and held it in her palm, just staring at it. I knew Amy would have loved it.

"She was always looking out for me; she had the biggest heart and wit of anyone I know."

Andrea smiled a little at my words and fastened the necklace around Amy's neck.

"It's so beautiful, she would've loved it." I told Andrea before giving her a firm hold on the shoulder and backed away to stand with Dale and Glenn. We watched Amy flinch and move her arms; she was reanimating. I watched Andrea talk to her as Amy tried to bite Andrea. The entire camp cautiously edged closer, unsure of Andrea's intent.

"I love you."

I flinched as Andrea pulled the trigger; I hid my face in Glenn's embrace, he hid his in mine.

It wasn't long until all the bodies were wrapped up in blankets or sheets. I watched the men heave our friends onto the back of a pick-up truck. I saw Ed's portly arm flop down over the rim; Carol had told me there wasn't a whole lot left intact. I was surprised at how little I felt; I felt nothing. I wasn't thankful he was gone. I wasn't broken down, inconsolable. He was a human being; admittedly he behaved like a shitty one, but he was still human, in theory. I had no anger towards him, no resentment. I had nothing.

Daryl caught my eye with intent before he drove the loaded truck up the hill to where Jim had started digging those graves. Now Shane and Rick were up there to finish digging. I walked Hannah up the hill with the others; she was tightly clutching a bunch of wild flowers we'd picked together.

"These people need to know who's in charge here, what the rules are." We walked in during Daryl's statement.

"There are no rules." Rick replied dejectedly.

"Well, that's the damn problem." I interrupted, pained at their lack of compassion, "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. Piling up bodies to burn, brush 'em away and be on our merry way, like nothing even happened. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do."

Everyone was laid to rest except for Amy. I had tears littering my eyes as Andrea dragged her body into the hole, insistent she do it solo. Once she laid Amy's head down gently, Dale helped her climb out of the grave.

People were invited to step forward and speak about their friends. After the first 3 people, we came to Ed. No one came forward. I stepped forward, hesitantly. I looked at Carol, she was shivering.

"Nobody deserves this. No one" My voice shook. Carol fixed her eyes on me, broke a small smile and embraced her daughter. I brushed passed with Hannah to place flowers on our boy's grave and I placed mine on Amy's. Shane praised our former sister-in-law on raising a kid who was nothing like his old man; brave, smart and good-hearted. The notion was seconded by the Grimes' shattered nods and tears. I spoke a number of words; I spoke about soldiering on, surviving, and how lucky we were to be together and to have known all of our departed friends. I can't recall the exact choice of empty words that fell from my mouth. Whilst in that moment; I know I didn't believe a single one. But they brought a glimmer of warmth and at a stretch, hope.

I heard Daryl scoff and lead the way back to camp. We all gradually dispersed and headed back to camp at our own pace. Shane, Dale, and Rick came over to check in with Hannah and I, before they went out ahead to patrol the perimeter.

"We should leave, baby girl." I eventually pulled Hannah's hand and she begrudgingly turned with me but stopped a few steps later. I turned back around to face her.

"He's okay, bub. He's with your mom, and my mom, your granny." My voice trembled, all my efforts focussed on my quivering lip. "And Amy, too. They're okay, baby girl."

"Are we gonna be okay?" she hesitantly placed her stuffed bunny down, leaning against Ethan's cross, her big green eyes pierced up at me.

"You should take her with you? You'll need her if you get scared." I uttered.

"He said we can't be scared anymore. It doesn't do no good." She straightened the bunny up and backed up to stand next to me. Ethan said that huh?

"He took such good care of you, baby girl." I sighed.

"We gotta take real good care of each other now." She looked up at me. I held her tightly. This precious girl, intelligent beyond her years was keeping me grounded, keeping me whole. We took one last glance and left the area, confident we may never return here again.

"I've been, uh, I've been thinking about Rick's plan." Shane proclaimed to the camp when the three men had returned, "Now look, there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

That night Daryl insisted we take his tent, the cars needed packing up. He was apparently undertaking guard duty, sat immediately outside the tent, stoically watching the tree line.

"Daryl?" I whispered as I left the tent.

"Yeah?" He looked up at me.

"We need to ditch a few cars, Shane asked for mine. We're supposedly heading out with you?"

"I don't mind." He answered, I heard him heavily sigh. "That jackass didn't deserve a word."

"It was for Carol, not him." I whispered before heading off.

"Your boy shouldn't even be there next to him. Hey! Where you going?" I heard him jolt up and follow me.

"Leave me alone, Daryl." I felt my eyes welling up, his hand grabbed my arm. I shook it off and kept walking. I wasn't sure where at first, just the opposite direction of that hill. I started down the quarry path and sat down on a bulky rock. The water was eerily still, the moon reflected crystal clear on the surface. It was peaceful and disturbingly beautiful. The valley was silent; nothing but crickets and my laboured breaths.

"So you tracked me," I sighed in a dark, defeated voice.

"Ain't my fault you're predictable," Daryl said lightly. He'd picked up on the fact I was less than thrilled to see him, but that didn't seem to faze him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I stood up, sharply. I wasn't angry at him. He was just stupid enough to follow me down here. All I wanted was a moment, a pause to inhale and maybe even exhale, if I was lucky.

"You shouldn't be out here alone. Let's go back to camp." He stretched out a hand.

"I'm predictable?" I snorted. "I'm weak? I've got those pesky things called feelings? I'm taking a time out to process what just happened?" My voice sailed in pitch as I progressed.

Daryl made a motion to speak.

"He told me I was okay. In his last moment he was taking care of me." I glared at him; my eyes were scanning his face for any sign of weakness. "We're falling like dominos! I will never know what happened to Olivia; Shane's the only family I have left, Ethan… Amy was my friend, and now she's gone too; along with any remainder of my old life. It got torn to pieces in front of me. I'm not going to apologise for taking a moment to break into tiny pieces. I will grab the freakin' dustpan later, right now, I just…I just…"

The woods seemed to grow silent around Daryl as I glared at him; my words evaporated as the pain in my chest radiated on.

"You ain't weak." He stepped towards me. "Far from it"

I hadn't realized how close together we had moved. If I reached out my hand, I could have touched his face. Not that I wanted to.

So much for personal space, I thought.

I couldn't back down, couldn't just let him win. I was still harbouring a pathetic grudge for the way he'd spoken to me when he'd been told about Merle. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. I desperately wanted him to get riled up. If he was going to stand there then I wanted him to yell back. I needed the outlet, dreadfully. My fists had rolled up and were shaking, stifling back the tears.

"Just leave!" I snarled at him through clenched teeth. "Seriously! Or else-"

"Or else what? You gonna throw another hissy fit?" he asked plainly.

"If you don't start moving, then yeah! Along with some other... more violent actions," I threatened. I could hear the words I was saying, I knew how feeble they sounded. He wasn't budging.

"Oh baby Jesus, I'm scared. Someone help me." He exclaimed sarcastically. "I'd love to see that!"

"I'm not afraid of you," I shouted boldly.

"I ain't afraid of you!" he retorted, shortly, his arms extended in desperation.

"If I wanted you here I would have asked you to come with me, but I didn't did I!"

"You want me here." he said with a deadly serious look on his face.

"No, I don't. Your goddamn baby mama might need consoling though, and some fucking shooting lessons!" My voice broke at the end of my tainted words.

We glared at each other in bitter silence, neither one willing to give up. This was a mutual fight, not just my grievous yelling. Daryl was pushing back, putting in effort to make me give up. Like he cared, cared enough to want to win. This type of fight took will-power, and a lot of it.

I didn't know how long we stood there glaring. I honestly couldn't tell.

Finally he spoke, "Enough of this bullshit. That doesn't make you weak. You're not alone. And what happened was sure as hell not your fault."

I felt my fists loosen as he continued on.

"I'm protecting my kid, I ain't apologising for that. But she ain't nothing but a drunken mistake, long before what she didn't do last night."

I caught my breath and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. I dropped my head, and inhaled deeply, focussing so hard not to cry. I felt his hands cautiously around my arms. The floodgates opened. His arms were wrapped around me now, his hand pulled my head closer into him. My legs gave way but he didn't even flinch. He kept me upright in a tight embrace. I don't know how long we stood there, but soon my sobs had calmed down to only a few little hiccups here and there, and my hands hurt from holding his shirt so tightly.

It had been a long time since I had been this close to someone physically, and I'd forgotten how wonderful it felt to be comforted like this. I let him, feeling the light pressure of his cheek against the top of my head where he had let it rest.

As my crying died down I was able to breathe through my nose again. Daryl smelled like the woods; I felt a small smile break across my face. He felt pretty solid. I didn't appreciate the extent before. But now I could feel his strong arms around me and his lean muscles under my hands. I had a sudden urge to bury my face in his neck and kiss it softly. Wait, what?!

I stiffened in his arms, and I could tell he noticed.

It's just the physical connection, I told myself. I'm distraught and vulnerable and he is just...here. I started to pull away and he didn't resist. I kept my gaze down and mumbled "I'm sorry," as I wiped a few straggler tears from my face. I flashed my eyes up at him, seeing a sad look on his face as he wiped the last tear away.

"Yeah. I mean...I just...yeah..." The discomfort of the moment was hindering my ability to form words but silence felt ominous. There was a battle going on in my brain, mumbling and tripping over unformed words and half sentences. I heard him shift away, but couldn't bring myself to lift my eyes to his; I couldn't look up any further. I knew what would happen if I locked eyes with him and was annoyed at myself for even thinking it.

"Let's head back." He said.


	15. Chapter 15: Wildfire

"Everybody listen up." Shane's voice grabbed everyone's shuffling attention. I jerked my head around and rose up from my lethargic pose, leant half-heartedly against the Cherokee.

"Those of you with radios, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane asked and surveyed his followers.

"We're, uh, we're not going." Morales uttered. Everyone spun to face the family. What?

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." Miranda shakily added.

"You go on your own; you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane replied tersely.

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Morales responded.

"You sure?" Rick asked the man.

"We talked about it. We're sure." Morales answered.

Rick grabbed a gun and Shane handed over half a box of ammo.

"Thank you all...for everything." Miranda said.

I hugged Miranda tightly, followed by her kids. The children all exchanged hugs through their sniffles.

"You will be in our prayers, your boy too." Morales embraced me heartily.

I released a shaky thank you. As I watched the Morales' family say their goodbyes I couldn't shake the pessimistic thoughts that we'd never see them again, and distance wasn't the key player there.

"God bless your baby." Miranda touched Kimberly's arm as she passed her smiled warmly. She didn't deserve the warmth one bit. I physically shook my head, attempting to shake this negativity away. It wasn't doing me any favours.

"What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane asked and brushed past Rick. "Let's go."

He handed me Olivia's handgun locked and loaded, and demanded it stay firmly on my person from now on. His voice was bitter but I didn't give it a second thought, I honestly didn't have the energy. I buckled Hannah into the middle seat of Daryl's pick-up truck before securing myself in. Jacqui, Dale, Glenn, and Jim were in the RV. Rick, Carol, Lori, Carl, and Sophia were in the Cherokee. T-Dog, Kim and Andrea were in the church van. Shane was alone in my Hyundai which was packed to the brim with our belongings.

It wasn't long until Hannah and I were fast asleep; she was nestled cosily into my arms. Something about being on the open road and not in a flimsy tent facilitated a rather glorious nap. I woke up a while later, drifting in and out of rest, the cool breeze through the crack of the window felt like a dream. I tumbled out of that dream as Daryl reached over and prodded my shoulder.

"Is it my turn already?" I kept my eyes closed tight until I heard him scoff,

"Pfft, please, woman. You ain't drivin' my truck."

I shuffled up and readjusted Hannah out of my arms asking "What's wrong? Why did we stop?"

"I don't know. Come on." He replied.

I left the sleeping Hannah and got out of the car, first ensuring the windows were rolled up a little further. My stiff legs took a wobbly second to kick into action. How long had I been out? We walked towards the RV which was producing a troublesome barrel of thick grey smoke.

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose." Dale said to Rick. "I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked.

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape." Dale answered.

"I see something up ahead." Shane said, lowering his binoculars. "A gas station if we're lucky."

"Y'all! Jim, it's bad. I don't think he can take it anymore." Jacqui said, coming out of the RV.

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort. I'll drive ahead; see what I can bring back?" Shane offered.

"Yeah, I'll come along too and back you up." T-Dog said.

"Y'all keep your eyes open now." Shane said. "We'll be right back."

"Georgia, I could use a more…delicate touch with this." Dale held up frayed wires, exasperated. I turned abruptly back to look at the truck, furiously weighing up the potential to get us on the road faster and the whirlwind of potential outcomes of taking my eye of Hannah for too long.

"I'll hang back, help the old man." Daryl wandered back over to his truck without a second word. I guess I had my answer there. I could focus on helping Dale fully.

Rick came out of the RV a short while later but waited for Shane and T-Dog to come back before telling us all what Jim had requested. My heart sunk at the idea; if it were me…would I want to be left at the side of the road? To watch my last remaining friends drive off into the distance…just…waiting for it to happen.

"It's what he says he wants." Rick said.

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.

"He seems to be." Rick answered. "I would say yes."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer." Dale said.

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that." Shane said.

"It's not your call, either one of you." Lori replied.

My heart yearned for another solution but I knew there would never be one. I ached for the solution. But the big man upstairs has a habit of ignoring my pleas these days.

Shane and Rick went into the RV and dragged Jim out as carefully as they could. Jim groaned out in pain the entire way, sighing in mild relief as they placed him at his destination, a sprawling shady tree.

"Hey, another damn tree." Jim joked. The smallest of smiles danced between us all before dispersing as quickly as it had spread.

"Hey, Jim. I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this." Shane said.

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice." Jim replied.

"Okay. All right." Shane said before backing up and placing a hearty arm around me. I was grateful for the support. I'd never taken the time to get to know Jim; it had felt as though there was ample time to get round to it. We all said our goodbyes to Jim before heading back down the hill to our respective cars. I smiled briefly upon returning to Hannah's hearty snores. Exactly like her mother. My smile fell as I watched Jim get smaller and smaller in the wing mirror as we drove farther away. I was silently glad that she didn't have to endure this sight. The memory would not be etched on her mind; she would not remember the hopeless man in his last moments. She'd been scarred enough.

"Who clocked you?"

"Huh?" I replied.

Daryl tapped his right cheek, "Your bruise?"

"Oh. That was Ed. I got caught in the middle. Well, in front of Carol." I answered.

We descended upon the CDC as night time began to creep across the roads.

It looked like a battlefield. There were blockades or sandbags everywhere and bodies littered the ground. I couldn't help but relive it all. Every time the pressure would smack me square in the chest and linger bitterly.

Once the door to the RV swung open, we all hesitantly exited our vehicles. I woke up Hannah and made sure she held her shirt to her nose before I did the same. It smelled really bad; incredibly putrid, flies were buzzing all over. I held Hannah close to my chest and helped her tug her shirt further over her nose. We started walking to the building, occasionally stepping over soldiers. It didn't take a genius to figure out the story; these people had desperately pinned their hopes on the CDC protecting them, and they'd been mown down by the sprinkling of bullet shells scattered across the ground.

We got up to the building, but the doors were blocked by heavy shutters.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said.

"Then why are the shutters down?" Rick replied.

"Walkers!" Daryl barked and took point at the rear to fend them off. An initial layer was sprinkled across the carpark but the darkness prevented a true assessment on the extent.

The kids started to panic and I lowered Hannah down, drawing my gun from my waist band.

"You led us into a graveyard." Daryl spat.

"He made a call." I hissed.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl hissed back.

"Shut up!" Shane snapped at Daryl before turning to Rick, "Rick, this is a dead end. Do you hear me? No blame."

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol whined.

"She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark." Lori cried.

"Fort Benning. Rick, it's still an option." Shane said tersely.

"On what? No food. No fuel. That's 100 miles." Andrea shot down his suggestion.

"125. I checked the map." Glenn commented.

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now." Lori said.

"We'll think of something!" Shane ordered us back to the cars. As the group started shuffling away, Daryl grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. I was rooted to the spot, transfixed on Rick's words.

"The camera, it moved." Rick uttered.

"You imagined it." Dale hollered back.

"It moved." Rick uttered with passion.

"Rick! It's dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on." Shane told him.

They started arguing and Rick ran forward, hitting the shutters. I gave in to Daryl's coaxing, and turned away from them. The horde was growing in numbers now, attracted by Rick's display.

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Shane hollered in his friend's face.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have woman, children, no food. Hardly any gas left." Rick begged. "You're killing us! You're killing us!"

Just as Shane dragged Rick kicking and screaming away, the shutters opened. We were bathed in bright, blinding light.

"Daryl, you cover the back." Shane ordered as we all sprinted toward the doors.

"Hello? Hello?" Our eyes feverishly darted around the imposing entryway. The sound of a gun cocking revealed our saviour's position. Rick, Glenn and Shane pointed their rifles towards a man toting an even bigger gun.

"Anybody infected?" The man barked back.

"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick answered as he slowly lowered his gun.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" He asked, walking towards us.

"A chance" Rick answered.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." The man said sincerely.

"I know."

The man looked around at all of us before speaking, "You will all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick replied.

He lowered his gun, "You got stuff to bring in you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

That was more than fine by us in that moment. The relief from uncertainty was intoxicating. Glenn, Rick, Daryl, and Shane braved the trek to grab our bags. Once they were in, Dale and T-Dog closed the doors abruptly behind them. The man went over to a security system as I surveyed the thick glass and steel protection in sheer awe.

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." He uttered into an intercom.

The shutters closed, sealing us in. Tentative grins of elation danced amongst the group as the realisation spread through everyone. We…were safe. A government official hefty barricade surrounded us. We looked over to the man.

"Rick Grimes." Rick said, holding out his hand.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner." Jenner replied, not taking the hand.

Jenner led us awkwardly over to an elevator, the fifteen of us and Jenner squeezing into the small space. I glanced over at the 15 capacity limit.

"Doctor's always go around packin' heat like that?" Daryl asked from my left. Of course I'd ended up squashed against him, even with my careful strategic loitering and hanging back.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself." Jenner answered before looking at us again, "But you look harmless enough." He looked at Carl, "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you." Carl chuckled in reply.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked as we piled out and proceeded down a bare hallway.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked.

"A little" She answered.

"Try not to think about it." Jenner responded.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner ordered as we walked into a vast chilly room.

The lights flickered on, revealing a mass of sprawling computers, monitors as far as the eye could see. The distinct lack of operators was unnerving.

"Welcome to Zone 5." Jenner's voice echoed throughout the unoccupied space.

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked as we followed him onto a central platform. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it." Jenner answered plainly as if that was a clear answer. "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked.

"Vi say hello to our guests. Tell them... welcome." Jenner said.

 _"Hello, guests. Welcome."_ A computer voice echoed overhead.

Vi…was just a computer. This man was really the only doctor left in the CDC.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

Jenner then carted our confusion into the side room to conduct the blood tests.

"What's the point? If we were infected, we'd be running a fever." I asked as Jenner took a second attempt to meet a vein. I sudden wave of sympathy for my first patients washed over me.

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough." Jenner answered politely.

"Do you mind terribly if I just…" I took the needle out of his hand and winced as I plunged it into my arm, completing the procedure. "Great, thanks! Also, Dr Jenner, the red-haired one in the back is pregnant; so I'd have to advise the smallest of samples." I said through gritted teeth.

"I shall take that under advisement, Doctor?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Had to be that or big time junkie, Boston Gen." I smiled politely and held the dot of cotton against my arm. "It might go faster if we're both stabbing, if you're okay with that?" I flicked the cotton into the trash can and picked up another test kit. Dr Jenner merely held up his hands in jest and nodded Andrea was next.

Andrea stood up shakily, but stumbled back down. Jacqui caught her, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" Dr Jenner rose up to the women.

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui answered tersely.

After fulfilling Jenner's requirements and his satisfaction we were not infected, he led us further down to a sprawling canteen style kitchen. A few of us set to work cooking a canned version of spaghetti while the others tucked into some snacks, some wine and other glorious forms of alcohol. When the hot food was ready, we all assembled around a mass of tables we'd pushed together. We ate, drank, and laughed into the night. It felt…light. Like dinner with friends on a Friday night. We were sharing stories and debating ideas like this night was…ordinary. Well, our old ordinary.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France." Dale said to Lori as he handed her another glass of wine.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy, or in France, he can have some then." Lori replied, looking down at her son.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on." Rick said and Lori gave him a look, "Come on. What?"

Lori laughed and let Dale take Carl's cup, pouring some wine in before giving it to the boy, "There you are, young lad."

We were all silent as Carl took his first sip. Carl jerked back, "Ewww."

We all laughed at the reaction and Lori decanted the rejected liquid into her own glass, "That's my boy. That's my boy."

"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane said.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl said from behind me.

"What?" Glenn perked up.

"Keep drinkin', little man. I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl said before we laughed.

We fell quiet as Rick tapped his fork on his glass and stood up, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." T-Dog said as we raised our glasses.

"Hear hear!"

"Here's to you, Doc."

"Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed, holding up his bottle.

"Booyah!" Hannah repeated from my lap, she turned to high-five Daryl.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asked, looking at Jenner. The entire group's cheer dissipated like stale air rippling out a balloon. Goddammit, Shane. "All the, uh, other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick said. "Don't need to do this now."

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead we found him. Found one man. Why?" Shane questioned bitterly.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner answered.

"Every last one?" Shane asked with an almost smug hint to his tone.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." Jenner finished. Oh, god.

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked.

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." Jenner answered. His tone was so defeated. This place…both sides of these steel and thick glass walls had endured their own slice of hell. This man, he was our saviour for tonight, but sooner or later, we'd have to digest the fact there was no light at the end of this tunnel. But fleeting bliss, even if it was just for tonight, that was worth its weight in gold.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." Glenn said, sitting down at the table, shaking his head at Shane.


	16. Chapter 16: Bourbon

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like." Jenner led us swiftly down a hallway. "There's a rec room down the hall that the kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay?"

He turning to face Carl, Hannah and Sophia as they nodded, "Or anything that draws power. The same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Glenn physically fell over the words.

"That's what the man said." T-Dog grinned.

Everyone dispersed to find a room, but Dr Jenner tapped me lightly on the arm and gestured to follow him back a few steps, out of earshot.

"Not entirely sure what her game is, but that lady is not pregnant." He uttered quietly.

I stared back at the man in an unadulterated moment of disbelief. "Excuse me?"

He handed me a piece of paper before nodding and leaving. "See for yourself, Doctor."

I unfolded the piece of paper and smoothed it out. He was telling the truth. According to these results, the HCG hormone levels were…next to non-existent. My mind raced, I never asked how she'd found out. Peed on the stick? Pfft, the HCG level would need to be at least 10 times this amount to register on a dollar store pregnancy test. Why the hell is she lying? What could she possibly have to gain from this? Daryl? He's not the brightest crayon in the box but surely even he'd notice when a baby didn't appear in 9 months?

"Hannah. Go find us a room." I crumpled up the paper and stormed after Kim.

I strolled into her room without announcing my arrival; she'd left her door wide open and was sitting up on her bed. I threw the paper ball at her, somewhat childishly and glowered coldly at her.

"I don't get what your game is. Just when I thought you couldn't possibly become any more of a waste of space."

She went to open her mouth.

"Interesting blood test results you've got there, you doughnut."

She stopped dead in her tracks and stuttered. "I just thought I was-"

"You fucking tell him, now." And with those final scathing words I left the woman straightening out the paper ball.

I set my bag down next to the couch, along with Hannah's; churning over what Dr Jenner had told me. I went to the bathroom and found what I needed: a comb, scissors and a towel. I walked back into the room and had Hannah sit on the ground in front of me while I trimmed her hair. My main concern was something undead grabbing her long curly brown hair. I needed to stay on the ball and think of every possible threat. I cleaned up the hair and threw it in the waste basket before marching her into the shower.

"Can I go play in the rec room?" she asked after she came out of the bathroom dressed in her new clothes. I instinctively glanced up at the wall clock that was broken. I didn't know what time it was, but it wasn't obscenely late.

"Sure, nana. I'll be there in a little bit." I answered as she pottered away. She looked so funny in her oversized attire.

The hot water felt incredible on my skin. After washing my hair, I began scrubbing until all the dried blood and dirt washed away, both literal and emotional. I scrubbed and scrubbed away before it all slammed into me, I no longer could contain it. I knocked back against wall and slid down to the floor, just sitting motionless under the stream, watching the dirty water gradually run clear. We were so damn close. He should be here. I pulled my knees tightly into my chest for security and wrapped my arms around them. So many what ifs raced through my mind, an entire series of scenarios where this could have worked out, I wanted one of those! I desperately clung to them; refusing to believe these were the cards we'd been dealt. My tears and the shower spray were indeterminate from each other. As my skin grew increasingly prune-like, my thoughts grew increasingly dark; how did the likes of that useless bimbo get to live and he did not? It just didn't make any sense to me.

I reluctantly dragged myself up and wrapped myself inside a ginormous fluffy clean towel. It felt exceptionally luxurious, but the guilt was always there. I dressed in a pair of Calvin Klein boxer shorts and a J Crew plain black vest top more my size. I felt spoilt. I placed my soaked black skinnies and t-shirt to hang on the heated towel bar. It honestly felt like a dream.

I walked out of the bathroom, rubbing my hair dry with the fluffy towel. Hannah wasn't there, so I assumed she was still in the rec room. It was incredibly peaceful and still. It felt like everything was suspended, just for that moment, just a single moment to catch my breath, the lines were blurred between the reality outside and this newfound haven. I smiled at the children's faint laughs in the distance.

I glanced over at the clock. It was apparently approaching 9am and had been ever since we arrived. I remarked at the lack of windows, for all I knew, maybe it was that time. Maybe days had passed? Maybe it was over now?

Without a second thought, I dragged over the dusty bottle of Jack Daniel's, picked up the Walkman from the bedside table and rejoiced as it came to life. I adjusted the dimmer switch and plonked myself down in one of the armchairs, draping my legs over the edge.

I felt the liquor warm up my body, I felt lighter. A compilation of thigh-slapping country songs greeted my ears. I began to tap my toes and further down the line, dance around the floor when a particularly nostalgic number came on. The soft, shaggy carpet felt so good under my feet. Joel played this number at my graduation party!

I released a shriek when I opened my eyes to someone standing right in front of me. He covered my mouth as I flailed about, dropping the Walkman, the headphone jack pinging out under the weight.

"Steady on, girl!" Daryl laughed. "Sorry to crash the party."

I slapped his chest and his unwelcome chuckles away. "Where's my drink?" I whispered quietly without looking at him, staring fiercely at my empty hand.

"Pretty sure you finished it; judging by those moves."

My mouth fell open in sheer disbelief at his statement, enjoying the blue glint of his eyes on me.

"I have not! It's been a while since I uh, got trashed." I defended myself half-heartedly, holding my hand out and twisting my wrist around, watching the long tiny trail of Jack Daniel's stream down the long planes of my arm. How did that get there?

"Mind if I get in on that? Bourbon over piss-water wine, any day!"

"Why of course, good sir!" I handed the weighty bottle over.

"Good. Cause we got some celebratin' to do." He sighed.

"Pfft" I chuckled and swayed "Genuinely surprised she told you! Genuinely thought I'd have to deal with that ball-ache too! Genuinely!"

"Genuinely, huh?" he chuckled lightly.

I smiled before it felt too heavy and my face fell neutral once more.

"I'm sorry, Daryl." I uttered.

"You ain't got nothing to be sorry about."

We sat in silence for a while on the floor with our backs against the sofa, Daryl taking occasional sips. I declined anymore as my head felt fuzzy enough already. I'd always been a lightweight, but now my tolerance was below zero.

"Wanna know a secret?" I asked, rolling my head so that I was looking at him.

He made a noncommittal sound in his throat.

"Oh! I forgot!" I moved my hip sideways, digging around to retrieve what I'd stuffed oh-so-gracefully into my boxers, almost tipping over, if not for the hand that reached out to grab me, steadying me until I found what I was looking for.

"Nice pants."

"Jealous they ain't yours?" I grinned and chortled out loud.

He merely scoffed and made sure I was sitting properly again before retracting his hand, drawing his knee up and resting his elbow on it.

"Got a light?" I asked.

"You know I read somewhere smoking's bad for ya?" He growled softly. He reached into his pocket before pulling out his lighter and illuminating the end of my cigarette. I inhaled, lighting the tip and pulled back.

My mouth fell open once more. "You can read?"

He merely laughed in response. Not a definitive answer, Dixon.

"Ya' want one?" I asked, waving the pack in front of his face. "Found them in one of the staff rooms."

He nodded and took one from the opened pack, lighting it himself. I watched the red spot of light travel to his lips and then settle over his knee. The sound of his breath as he exhaled was oddly comforting.

"Malbrororo…" I said quietly reading the packet.

"Right" He replied gruffly.

I grinned at him before remembering that he could still see me for the most part, it wasn't pitch black in here, merely dim. We finished our cigarettes without speaking, filling the recycled air instead with the sounds of our breath, of our lives. Daryl finished his first, I was not surprised—I had always smoked them more casually, never really an addict. I knew that if I'd ever used them as a stress reducer I wouldn't have been able to stop. I knew the science. I knew the facts. The risks seemed irrelevant now; the chances of a cigarette ending me were severely outweighed. He pressed the butt onto the coffee table before us. I listened to it sizzle out, before feeling his eyes on me. "Was that yer secret? The good doctor smokes?"

I shook my head, knowing he was looking at me and could see the movement with his sharp hunter's eyes. "No."

"Then what was it?" He demanded impatiently.

"I really hate this place." I sighed, exhaling my last bit of smoke and pressing the cigarette onto the table next to Daryl's.

He looked confused, "Its hella better than out there?"

I scoffed, "No. This State! I figured that out the second I moved away. It follows me around, it's my goddamn name! Ya know I lived in the centre of Boston…the sound of sirens and horns and voices shouting even at three in the morning. Hospitals are pretty loud places. And I was so convinced I'd never step foot in that goddamn Practice. I was cut out for that life, a life far away from here…but life had other plans." I chuckled softly.

"Yeah. The dead rising put a bump in a lotta people's plans." Daryl commented, a huff of laughter escaping him.

"With everything that's happened..." I smiled through the dim darkness. "I can't remember the last time I genuinely felt safe, than sat here drunk. Not okay, but safe. It's so much more peaceful, sat here than when I close my eyes. Is that stupid?" I asked, turning towards him, my head tilted curiously.

"No." He answered simply, his blue eyes settling on my green ones.

I smiled softly at him, hoping he could see. "Good."

We stared at each other for a few moments; the breeze rustling through the air conditioning grate was the only sound to be heard except for our shallow breaths.

"What did you do before all this?"

Daryl merely scoffed. How dare he withhold information when I'm in a cheerful over-sharing drunken mood! It's just bad manners.

"Oh come on, you have to tell me!" I whined. "I told you!"

"Ya didn't. It was obvious. Besides, I'd rather listen to you than talk 'bout me." He closed his statement with a slower sip of bourbon. I paused for a moment before the bourbon spoke for me.

"Did I tell you why I became a surgeon?"

He merely shook his head once.

"I was 12 years old precisely to the very day. My mom and I were on our way back from Barton's Bowl-Arena and Ice Rink; it was next to the old folk's home. My mom isn't Shane and Jesse's mom. Every birthday, hers and mine, we'd go ice-skating and get new outfits too, that was our thing."

He didn't break his gaze.

"On my 12th birthday, we were on our way back home in a taxi, my dad was too drunk to pick us up, and Jesse was doing another stint in prison. My mom never learnt to drive…and this drunken driver went and ploughed into the side of that taxi, the side my mom was on. It flipped the car a couple of times. She didn't die on impact, I was with her, and I watched her and I was completely helpless. I was mad at everything for a long time. Our stupid birthday traditions were blamed for a long time, my dad was a drunken asshole, Shane was never home, and Jesse was too busy running arms. The only sense I could make out of it all was: I'm gonna be the one to fix it for other people. I'm gonna save people from shitty circumstances. Rick's grandparents actually pretty much raised me and pushed me to get where I needed to go. And everyone was in shock and awe that the dead doctor's daughter didn't fall into the family's ways; she actually made something of herself. She defied the odds. And learned later on that she couldn't have been saved. So, that was something to put the old mind at rest."

Daryl droned in uncertainty; I assume at my abrupt end to my depressing life story. His leg pressed alongside mine. The warmth of the alcohol was nothing compared to the fire that spread up my thigh at the contact. I shivered slightly as the heat spread up my spine and I leapt to my feet, pacing the room awkwardly before deciding to perch on the arm of the sofa.

"Ya' cold?" He asked as he too came to his feet. In the corner of my eye I saw him shuffle out of his plaid shirt

"No," I blushed as he covered my shoulders with the shirt, hoping that the darkness was enough to cover the betrayal of my skin. The words came out so defeated I felt the strange impulse to pull myself towards him. He in fact readjusted himself closer to me.

I closed my eyes with purpose and exhaled deeply. I slowly opened my eyes to find Daryl staring at me, instantly causing my heart to patter in my chest like rain on a tin roof. His hands raised to my face, lingered and then, "Are you crying?" Daryl raised an eyebrow.

"No." I let out the feeblest noise, avoiding his ocean blue eyes, standing up and brushing passed him, erupting into full on manic mode "I think I just exhaled though. I really do not know what I'm doing! And you can't be there saving me all the time. So I think that's okay that I don't know what I'm doing, but then this will happen all over again, and I can't-"

"Hey." He pulled me around and closed the gap between us. His hands were in my hair before I could process what was going on. Urgh, there was definitely gonna be smears of bourbon in my freshly-cleaned hair. I felt a shiver of excitement ripple down my spine, or perhaps it was the air conditioning? Shut up, Brain! I kissed him back, with intent. His hands were on my back now, pulling me in closer. I wrapped my arms around his neck and lost my hands in his hair.

I could have sworn we were on fire, every nerve burning with a passion I thought long ago extinguished. Daryl moved forward, toppled us onto the sofa and came down on top of me. Okay…how? It was seamless and fluid, our lips never left each other. As his hands began to wander further south, my nervous, neurotic thoughts began to dissipate, and centred on only one: I need him. Right now.

Our bodies froze at the sound of Hannah's voice calling down the hallway. Every ounce of my being was devastated.

We broke apart, though an energy buzzed around us. The connection was almost palpable. Daryl dropped his forehead to gently rest against mine, savouring the final seconds. Despite the temperature both of our bodies were burning, our breathing heavy. Daryl rolled off in defeat, grabbed the bourbon and left the room.


	17. Chapter 17: TS-19

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this rather chunky chapter, the final chapter in fact of season one. As you can obviously tell, my story does run canon with the show, other than a few minor tweaks. I'm so excited to continue on into season 2 now, as the brother/sister relationship with Shane and Georgia is really going to be tested especially with regards to the season finale events! Thank you for taking the time to read, I really do appreciate it.**

 **I have one final question before we get started, it may seem like a dumb one but I am a total newbie at : do I need to begin a "new story" i.e. Georgia Walsh: Season Two or can I just change the title to Georgia Walsh, omitting the "season one" suffix? I hope that makes sense! I'd like to keep her story as one continuous flow.**

 **Anyway! I hope you've had a lovely weekend and enjoy reading this season's final chapter :) xx**

I jolted awake, confused initially at my surroundings. As the memories flooded back into my severely dehydrated brain, the speed of my heart simmered back down. It was okay, we were safe in our own little room here. I flopped back down and embraced myself, smothered in an oversized plaid shirt. Wait…this was…oh god dammit! I covered my face with my hands as I remembered every idiotic nuance of last night. God dammit, Georgia! I took a moment to just stare at the ceiling, furiously attempting to smother the replays of my embarrassing blabbermouth. Hey, I haven't slept in an actual building in so long, that's neat, think about that. Hannah began to stir, thankfully.

I turned my attention to finding her something to wear that wasn't ten sizes too big. Our old clothes were nicely clean and heated on the towel rails, a real luxury.

"Did you sleep well, baby?" I asked the little girl.

She nodded and smiled back at me, "I didn't wake up once. D'ya think Dr Jenner will let us play for maybe just even like half an hour on one of the consoles? Maybe we could help out, like a chore reward time? We used to have Golden Time at school and-"  
"I'll ask him, kiddo. Maybe" I smiled.

She took my hand and led me down to the hallway towards the chatter and bustle. Almost everyone was already up and about, either tucking into their breakfasts or nursing their hangovers. Hannah and I took our seats beside Lori and prepared to pile on our plates. My eyes were overstimulated by the choices.

"Mornin'" Rick greeted the group as he sauntered in.

"Are you hung-over?" Carl asked with a cheeky grin, "Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right." Rick answered with a scoff.

"Mom has that annoying habit." Lori replied.

"Eggs. Powdered, but I do 'em good." T-Dog said, walking over to the table.

Glenn moaned and I leant back to place a delicate, supportive hand on his shoulder.

"I bet you can't tell. Protein helps the hangover." T-Dog finished, putting eggs on Glenn's plate and he moaned again.

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked, holding up a bottle of pain killers.

"Jenner." Lori answered. "He thought we could use it."

"Some of us, at least." Jacqui corrected.

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn said with his head propped up in his hand. I felt so bad for him, but quietly stifled a giggle all the same.

"Hey." Shane said as he passed by the table.

"Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked him.

"Worse." Shane answered.

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dog asked Shane, "Your neck?"

"I must have done it in my sleep." Shane replied.

"Never seen you do that before." I piped up.

"Me neither." Shane looked over at Lori, "Not like me at all."

Well, that certainly wasn't suspicious. I returned my attention back to the surprisingly tasty eggs.

"Morning." Jenner greeted as he walked into the room.

"Hey." We all greeted back.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-" Dale began.

"But you will anyway." Jenner said with a smile as he got coffee.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea replied.

Our forks all rattled down onto our plates as Rick led the march behind Jenner. As satisfying as our breakfast had been, nothing compared to the chance of finally getting some real answers from this man. Jenner led us into the vast sea of monitors and started typing furiously before demanding, "Give me playback of TS-19."

 _"Playback of TS-19"_

The central giant screen, which rivalled a movie theatre screen, lit up before us, "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few" Jenner uttered.

My grip on Hannah's hand loosened slightly as I saw, in awe, a brain come on the screen. She gripped on tighter.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one" Jenner replied. "Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV."

 _"Enhanced internal view"_

The image magnified to an extraordinary degree I had never come across before. I'd only spent a limited time in Neurology and let's be honest, call me Matt's dimples took up a lot of that time, these images were unprecedented. The bright blue lights danced across the brain.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a person's life; experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you: the thing that makes you unique and human." Jenner answered.

"You get any of this?" Daryl asked from next to me and I jumped, when did he get here?

"It's a little above my pay grade." I whispered back.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth, to the moment of death." Jenner explained.

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick questioned.

"Yes." Jenner answered, "Or rather a playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked. "Who?"

"Test Subject 19: someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process." Jenner told the room, "Vi, scan forward to the first event."

 _"Scanning to first event"_

There was the scan of the head with the brain and there was these dark red, blue, and purple lines spreading throughout the brain. Had you no knowledge of what this was or what was coming, you might have regarded it as rather beautiful.

"What is that?" Glenn asked uneasily.

"It invades the brain like meningitis." Jenner explained and on the screen, Test Subject 19's throat constricted like they were struggling to breath. "The adrenal glands haemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs."

All of a sudden, the brain went dark and the person stopped moving. "Then death. Everything you ever were or will be... gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mom.

"Yes." Carol answered quietly.

Jenner looked over at Andrea. She was breathing hard and her hand gripped the railing.

"She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister" Lori explained. Two days…had two days really passed?

"I lost somebody, too. I know how devastating it is." Jenner uttered before turning back to the screen, "Scan to the second event."

 _"Scanning to second event"_

"The resurrection times vary widely. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds."

We all watched as red light sparked up inside the brain like a fire kindling. It was fascinating and terrifying.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori questioned.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving." Jenner answered.

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked.

Jenner turned back to face me and motioned to the screen, "You tell me."

"No. It's nothing like before. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, it's all dark." I piped up.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The human part does not come back, the "you part"…just a shell driven by mindless instinct." Jenner continued.

A bullet soared right through the subject's head.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea answered before looking at the doctor, "Didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations." Jenner ordered.

 _"Powering down main screen and workstations"_

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea questioned.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, and fungal." Jenner replied. My eyes were widening as he listed off the basics, he didn't even have a direction; he didn't have a clue.

"The wrath of God" Jacqui suggested.

"There is that."

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea pleaded.

"There are others, right?" Carol asked, "Other facilities?"

"There may be some." Jenner answered. "People like me."

"But you don't know?" Rick asked, "How can you not know?"

"Everything went down: communications, directives, all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." Jenner explained.

"So it's not just here." I stepped forward towards the doctor, "There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?"

Jenner didn't reply but we all knew the answer. There was nothing out there. Nothing.

"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again." Daryl moaned, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but... that clock." Dale pointed to a clock on the wall and it was counting down, "It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

"The basement generators, they run out of fuel." He answered quickly and swiftly departed the room. He answered far too quickly. It was definitely suspicious.

"And then?" Rick called after him, to no avail.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" I called out to the computer.

 _"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur"_ The computer ominously echoed throughout the now silent room. The silence delivered another blow straight to the gut.

Rick instructed everyone to head back to their rooms and pack up, preparing for the worst. He took Glenn, T-Dog, and Shane to find the generators.

Rick tapped my arm lightly and whispered, "Keep everyone calm but be ready."

I nodded and led everyone out.

I settled our bags down on Lori's bed and sat next to her, resting my head on her shoulder and rolling up the sleeves on my flannel shirt. It was rather toasty in here. Hannah and Carl were flicking through a magazine on the floor. The lights flickered on and off.

"I can't shake this feeling." I jolted up and whispered to Lori. She mimicked my pained expression.

"Let's just wait until Rick gets back, before we give in." She stroked my shoulder and stepped onto the other couch, raising her hand to the air conditioning unit.

There was no cold air coming out of it, the answer to the room growing progressively warmer. We opened the door to see what was happening and saw Jenner walking down the hallway,

"Why's the air off?" Carol asked.

"And the lights in our rooms?"

"What's going on?" Daryl asked. "Why is everythin' turnin' off?"

Jenner snatched Daryl's bottle of whiskey and took a swig before answering, "Energy is being prioritized."

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale questioned.

"It's not up to me." Jenner said as he passed by Dale, "Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

I picked up Hannah from Lori's room and followed everyone else down the hallway.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked.

When Jenner didn't answer, Daryl ran up behind the doctor, "Hey, man, I'm talkin' to you. What do you mean it's shuttin' itself down? How can a buildin' do anythin'?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner replied darkly. Just as he descended the stairs to the vast monitors, the others ran into the room. Lori called to her husband, who gestured her to stay back.

Rick walked up to Jenner, "Jenner, what is happening?"

"The system is dropping all the non-essential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark."

He answered as we arrived back at the countdown clock. "Right on schedule."

Thirty one minutes, twenty eight seconds.

Jenner stopped at the steps that led up to the central platform. He took one more sip of Daryl's bottle before handing it back to his snatching hands.

"It was the French."

"What?" Andrea asked.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were closed to a solution." Jenner answered before ascending to the platform.

"What happened?" Jacqui questioned.

"The same thing that's happening here: no power grid…ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner scoffed before walking away.

"Let me tell you-" Shane aggressively started, following Jenner.

"To hell with it, Shane" Rick responded, pulling him back fiercely, "I don't even care." He turned to his wife, "Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here NOW!"

We shakily nodded and started heading up back to the hallway where our rooms were but froze in place when alarms started blaring out. I covered Hannah's ears at the deafening sirens.

"What is that?" Shane hollered.

Hannah started whimpering and I covered her ears even tighter.

 _"Thirty minutes to decontamination."_ Oh…shit.

"What's goin' on here, Doc?" Daryl yelled.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go! NOW!" Shane yelled to us.

We ran towards the door but it slammed down in our faces.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked. "He just locked us in!"

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled as he rushed towards Jenner ready to smash the bottle across his head, "You locked us in here!"

Shane and T-Dog chased after him and tried to keep him away from Jenner, "No, don't!" He was putting up one hell of a fight, clawing after the man.

"Jenner, open that door now." Rick commanded.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." He replied nonchalantly.

"Well, open the damn things." Dale roared in a tone I'd yet heard from him.

"That's not something I control. The computers do." Jenner responded. "I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick questioned. "What happens in 28 minutes?"

When Jenner didn't answer Shane hit the back of his chair. I picked up Hannah and hugged her tightly. I knew exactly what was happening here, hell, we all did. A nice hot shower was sure as hell not heading our way in those 28 minutes. I buried my face in Hannah's hair until I jumped at Jenner's outburst.

"What happens in 28 minutes?!" Rick repeated fiercely.

"Do you know what this place is? We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized small pox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out, ever!" Jenner shouted in various faces before he sat back down to compose himself. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"HITs?" Rick asked.

"Vi, define."

 _"H.I.T.s - high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."_

"The air is set on fire." The words stumbled out of my mouth, making teary eye contact with Rick's sunken face. His chest was rising and falling rapidly.

"No pain, an end to sorrow, grief, regret." Jenner uttered "Everything."

I ran my hand through my hair before staggering back into a chair and hugging Hannah to my chest.

"What, what is happening?" She whispered into my ear.

I didn't answer for a while. I kissed her hair and rested my cheek on top of her head. This is how we go out. This is the end. I needed to say something to the little girl. She sat back in my lap and brought her tear-lined eyes up to mine. My final words to her can't be "our air's about to be set on fire."

"I'm not going anywhere, Banana." I smiled, feeling my lips quivering. "I'm never leaving you, okay? I love you, so much, baby girl."

"I love you too, aunt Georgie." Hannah snuggled into me once more; I could tell she was beyond confused. Maybe that was for the best. Is this really easier? Obliterated into a dust particles or fighting, even for only one more day?

Daryl stalked towards the door and smashed his bottle against it before roaring to

Jenner, "Open the damn door!"

Shane grabbed an axe and sprinted towards the metal door, hollering everyone out of his way. He started slamming the axe against it. T-Dog threw an axe to Daryl, doubling both the pounding and enraged grunting. Lori squeezed my shoulder and sat next to us. Hannah sensed everyone's increasing distress and started whimpering along with Carl and Sophia.

"You should've left well enough alone." Jenner said. "It's would've been so much easier."

"Easier for who?" I asked harshly, shuffling Hannah into Lori's arms as I stood up, pissed at his words.

"All of you." He answered, "You know what's out there. A short, brutal life and an agonizing death." He looked over at Andrea, "Your sister, what was her name?"

"Amy." She answered.

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it." Jenner turned to Rick, "Is that really what you want for your wife and son?"

"I don't want this." Rick answered. I folded my arms bluntly and kept my eye on Daryl stalking back and forth.

"Can't make a dent" Shane said, panting, leaning against a computer.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner said.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled, coming at the doctor with the axe. I slammed myself in between them, spreading my arms out, "DARYL! STOP!" His blue eyes pierced into mine.

Dale, T-Dog and Rick grabbed and pushed him back, "Back up!"

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner replied.

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane questioned.

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick responded.

"There is no hope. There never was." Jenner stated.

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here. But somebody somewhere..." Rick began.

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea replied.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event." Jenner said.

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." Carol spoke up.

"One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain." Jenner replied.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" She sobbed.

"Wouldn't it be kinder, to be more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked.

I heard the cock of a gun and looked over and saw Shane heading towards Jenner with a gun. Daryl wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me back from Shane's rage. Preventing any incline I may have had to jump in front of this one.

"Shane, no!" Rick yelled, trying to hold his friend back.

"Out of my way, Rick!" Shane yelled back and pushed him away before walking over, his gun aimed at Jenner, "Open that door. Or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!"

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this." Rick told Shane. "We will never get out of here."

"Shane, you listen to him." Lori begged. Everyone was upright and dispersed away from the action.

"It's too late."

"He dies, we all die." Rick said.

Shane screamed out and instead of shooting the doctor, he shot the computers behind him. Daryl pushed me behind him; I covered my head from the shattering glass. Rick managed to snatch the gun away from him and knocked him down to the ground.

"Are you done now? Are you done?" Rick asked over him.

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane answered bitterly.

Rick passed the gun to T-Dog and looked around at all of us. He was silent for a moment before looking at Jenner, "I think you're lying."

"What?" Jenner questioned.

"You're lying. About no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" Rick asked.

"It doesn't matter." Jenner replied.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Rick asked.

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise..." Jenner said as he stood up and pointed to the big screen, "To her. My wife."

"Test Subject 19 was your wife?" I questioned as I felt Daryl's hand leave my arm and storm back to the door with an axe.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the

World! Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just... Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's all we want." Rick replied. "A choice. A chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori begged.

"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those." Jenner sighed as he moved around Rick and swiped his badge. After punching in a few numbers and holding our collective breath, the door opened.

"Come on!" Daryl yelled.

The group all ran up the slope. Glenn scooped up Hannah and sprinted for the door.

"Hey! We've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn yelled.

"No. I'm staying, sweetie." I turned to look at Jacqui's fraught face.

"But that's insane!" T-Dog told her.

"No, it's completely sane, for the first time in a long time." Jacqui replied. "I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue and no point, not if you want to get out."

Kim began to slide down to the floor, her face completely pale and glazed over, "Oh hell no! You get your bony ass up right now. You don't get an option!" I pulled her up roughly and pushed her in the direction of the door. She stumbled over her feet and scrambled to the door.

"GEORGIA! NOW!" Daryl hollered from the top of the ramp. T-Dog grabbed my hand and we left Jacqui behind. "She's made her choice." He uttered.

Daryl shoved the bags into my hands once we'd reached the top of the slope and sprinted out. I pushed Hannah's back pack straps up her shoulders and glanced around desperately at our final obstacle. T-Dog and Glenn tried to get the doors open, but it didn't work. Shane and Daryl tried to use the axes on the window, but it didn't work, either.

"Look out!" T-Dog grabbed a chair and threw it at the glass, but just like the axes, it didn't work.

"Dog, get down!" Shane yelled at the man and tried to shoot the window. It did not work.

"The glass won't break?" Sophia questioned.

Carol reached into her bag, "Rick, I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane commented.

"Your first morning at camp when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." Carol said, holding out a grenade.

Rick took it and rushed to the window, "Look out!"

I grabbed Hannah and pulled her to the ground, covering her as the explosion shattered the window, luckily out the way. Everyone was yelling over ringing ears. Glenn yanked us up and slammed a shot gun in my hands. Moments later we were all sprinting towards the cars. The daylight was almost blinding after spending the night underground. Rick and Shane shot at a few walkers that were heading towards us. Daryl and I covered the rear; he swung the head clean off of one. Glenn had sprinted ahead, cradling Hannah once again. We ran towards Daryl's truck.

"Get down in the back!" Rick honked the horn and gestured wildly. We were running out of time, we scaled the bed of the truck and slammed down, curled beneath the cabin window. The RV honked aggressively and I peered up briefly through the cabin window to see Dale and Andrea heading towards us.

"GET DOWN!"

Daryl yanked my arm back down and covered my body, shielding me from the blast. Seconds after, the CDC imploded and a wave of scorching heat thundered past us. The ground shook and rumbled beneath us. My ears rang out as Daryl stood up and descended off the truck bed. I slowly shook my head as if to shake the daze off. Sprinkles of dust and glass sifted down. Little pricks and tingles indicated the shards had littered my legs.

"Georgia?" Daryl asked, waving a hand in front of my face, his face fell further as he smacked the truck bed to gain my attention.

"I'm fine." I winced as the sensation of shock began to dissipate.

I shakily stood up, clawing my way up to lean against the truck cabin. I saw nothing but dust and debris; a thick dense cloud of flames engulfed where the CDC had stood. Even from this distance, the heat was unbearable. I looked down to see the truck's back window had shattered over us. I could hear voices ahead. Had Dale and Andrea made it? Was that them? Hannah pushed past Daryl but he stopped her climbing up, the truck bed was littered with glass after all. Daryl helped me climb down and the little girl rugby tackled me immediately. I stroked her hair and rubbed my eyes clear. Get it together. I kissed the top of her head and saw that Daryl was still tinged with worry in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I asked the kid.

"Is Jacqui gone now?" she asked.

Tears blurred my vision as I nodded, "Yeah, baby, she's in heaven now."

Our group had grown smaller by one person instead of 4. Still, we didn't feel like celebrating. This was no victory. Luckily Dale had been able to get Andrea out of the building before it exploded.

But, the real question was...What the hell now?


	18. Season 2: What Lies Ahead

**A/N: Hello everyone! Apologies for the rather lengthy delay in beginning Season 2! I don't know about you, but I like to have a really good idea of the entire season's shenanigans before going in and fleshing out each individual chapter. Season 2 isn't the most eventful so this took a little longer than expected to get timelines/development right! Anyway, enough from me. I'm really excited about this season and pushing the sibling loyalty to the edge! I hope you enjoy and as ever, please leave any comments, critiques, recommendations, etc, I would love to read! :)**

 _"_ _I'm_ _losing hope that you can hear me. But there's always a chance isn't there? That slim chance. It's all about slim chances now. I tried to do everything right, keep people safe. I tried, Morgan. I tried. Our group's smaller now. We lost another, day before last. It was her choice. I won't say I blame her, but she lost faith. The CDC was a dead end. I met a man there; a scientist. He told me something. He told me…It doesn't matter. What matters is we're moving on. Atlanta's done. We're gonna try for Fort Benning. We're facing a long, hard journey, maybe even harder than I can imagine. But it can't be harder than our journey's been so far. Can it? 125 miles: that's what lies ahead. And I'm trying hard not to lose faith. I can't. If I do…the others… My family, my wife, my son; there's just a few of us now so we've got to stick together, fight for each other, be willing to lay down our lives for each other if it comes to that. It's the only chance we've got. Be careful out there, Morgan. I hope you and Duane are okay. Stay off the road. Keep moving. Keep your eyes open. I don't know, just…just be safe. Maybe we'll see you in Fort Benning someday. Rick signing off."_

I propped my folded arms on top of the railing and peered out over the city, listening gently to Rick's solemn words behind me. A small part of me admired his resolve and faith in his saviour hearing those words. That small part grew smaller every day. The Georgia sun was beating down across my face. It was a gorgeous new day, solely in temperature terms.

I spun instantly at the sound of someone or something crunching down on scattered glass behind us. Rick flinched and sprung to his feet, staggered and crouched again to finish his warning to his friend.

Kim tentatively stepped further towards me but faltered as I repositioned into an unreceptive stance. Her eyes sheepishly danced between mine and the floor.

"The hell you doing here? Hour's long from up." I folded my arms harshly across my body.

"Dale's done with his repairs, he says it's time to saddle up." She uttered.

"He sent you solo up here?" I raised an eyebrow. The group was stationed a good distance away from here, the high-rise closest to the city outskirts.

"Well I took it upon myself to come on up here because well, Georgia, I was just hoping to get you alone, I really need to talk to you." She started.

Oh sweet Jesus, Kim really? I didn't dignify her mutterings with a response.

"I know whatever I say, won't make up for anything. I was scared. I just froze. I'd never seen one actually do…that." Her eyes met the floor once more. Was that it? A few meagre words and a dose of patchy eye contact, that's all she got? I stared coldly back at her, motionless, unimpressed; her yapping was really just about the last thing I wanted to hear right now.

"Not the time, Kim." I whispered hoarsely and resumed my position perched against the balcony. A moment of peace, that's all I sought from accompanying Rick to the top of this city building. I sought one last chance to take in the tainted cityscape; to quell the tiny voice from the forefront of my mind that insisted this was all a dream. But she continued on.

"I'll always regret not acting, for the rest of my days, however long that's gonna be. I just wanted you to know that. You saved me back there at the CDC, gave me a second chance and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make it even the smallest bit up to you."

I couldn't stifle it any longer, exasperated I turned to the snivelling girl, "You don't get to be scared anymore! You don't get people watching your back without watching theirs. You'd better get some balls to attach to that talk, and earn everyone's respect back. You'll sure as hell never get mine."

"I was just scared that Daryl would leave me behind, I knew he'd jump at the chance to be with someone like you, someone ready for this! I needed his help, I couldn't fend for myself, and it was just-"

"Selfish." I dwarfed her feeble mutterings. "I think it best we stay outta each other's way, alright."

I nodded over at Rick, who was tucking the radio into his waistband, awkwardly trying to stay out of earshot and headed the way back to the others. Ready for this? I scoffed and left the empty words to rot behind in the abandoned city.

We descended upon the others far ahead of schedule. Shane and Glenn were keeping watch as the others stretched their legs. Daryl was knelt beside his brother's bike, tweaking away.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Daryl drawled as I stomped past him. I stopped dead in my tracks. Alrighty then, cowboy, let's dance. I spun to face him, prepared to take every ounce of anger out on him.

"The CDC…we gonna talk about…that?" I pointed behind me, and realised mid-way through how dumb the question was but it fell from my lips nonetheless. Note to self, when emotionally charged, don't pile on extra grief because it seems like the thing to do at the time.

"What's there to say, Georgia Peach?" his eyes were fixed on his tools and the job at hand.

"Got it" I scoffed and brushed it off, sauntering back towards the group. My wrist was subsequently grabbed and I was pulled back to face him. Damn, he was quick. I kept my eyes purposely down until I watched his touch rise, linger mere moments from my cheek and fall by the wayside. What else did I expect honestly from the country king of hesitation?

"What do you want from me?" he drawled every word with intent, there was a hint of anger in his tone, maybe it was frustration, it was something.

"I don't want anything from you." I shook my wrist out of his grasp and continued on.

I knew fine well this was unreasonable anger. There was nothing substantial to be gained here; what was I honestly expecting: an invite to the prom? I left him standing there, stubbornly, to mull over our brief reprieve from reality and pushed it firmly to the back of my mind, I had stronger priorities here.  
The group had decided that Fort Benning was our best bet and we departed soon after. To save on gas, we had to ditch a few of the cars. Daryl got rid of his pick up and changed over to his brother's bike. The Grimes and the Peletier's filled up the Cherokee. I didn't feel up to driving so Glenn took the wheel of my Hyundai, with Kim and T-Dog. Hannah and I joined Shane and Andrea in Dale's RV.

Daryl rode out first on the motorcycle followed by the RV, the Cherokee and then the Hyundai took the rear.

A fair few miles down the road, Shane began cleaning his gun under the watchful eye of Andrea. Shane always kept his arms at the top of their game. I briefly faded in and out of their conversation which evolved into his maintenance of her piece. I felt the pressure of Olivia's gun, tucked into the back of my waistband, press into my back all the more notably.

Hannah was perched on her knees next to me in the rear seats, braiding a small piece of my hair. Her question shook me out of my daze,

"What was your mom like?"

It took a moment to register what she'd asked, "My mom?"

She nodded and continued to braid.

"Um, well she was quiet, kind; no one had a bad word against her. She was a GP, shared a practice with a mean crusty old man, and yeah, she was pretty ordinary. Why do you ask?"

"I never met my other grandma." She shrugged back.

"Your grandma wasn't Georgia's mom, little one." Shane didn't raise his gaze from the firearm he was cleaning out, "though you'd wish she were."

"Shane." I snapped at him, urging him not to continue.

"Your grandma was a waitress, split town when your daddy was yay high. She was a fireball, took shit from no one, surprised she put up with your granddaddy's…ways as long as she did." Shane finally caught my glare and drifted off.

"I met Papa." Hannah finished the braid and sat back to admire her work.

"My mom loved your daddy like her own, and she'd have loved you too, sweet pea." I smiled at the little girl.

Dale muttered under his breath, "Oh, jeez. Aw, no."  
I shuffled out past Hannah, whispering "Sit tight, Banana." Tentatively I made my way up to the front beside Shane and peered cautiously out the windshield, realising the extent of the car pile-up. As far as we could see, there was a blanket of abandoned vehicles.

Daryl drove back to Dale's window,

"See a way through?" Dale asked him.

Daryl nodded and motioned to follow.

"Uh, maybe we should just go back." I suggested, as I climbed into the passenger seat and scoured over the map "There's an interstate bypass-"

"We can't spare the fuel." Dale replied lightly. The RV bumbled down the embankment, bypassed endless cars and eventually we were forced back around onto the highway.

I tried my best not to look out the window as we passed the cars. I knew the likelihood of dead bodies staring back, either propped up behind the wheel or sprawled all over the road. As I intensely focussed on the dashboard, the front of the RV popped open accompanied by a jarring, clanking noise. We all jumped out of our skin at the sudden shatter to our held breath. Dale stopped the vehicle and hit the steering wheel, "Damn it."

The group assembled outside the RV to assess the damage.

"I said it." Dale said, "Didn't I say it? A thousand times over: dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Oh, perhaps it's just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-." Dale stopped and looked around at the abundance of abandoned cars, "Okay, that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane began.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl said, looking through an SUV.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog replied.

"Maybe some water." Carol continued.

"And food."

"This is a graveyard." Lori said, "I don't know how I feel about this." Her words resonated, but only for a mere second did I mirror her discomfort and shuffled from one foot to another, awkwardly.

"It's not like they'll need it." I suddenly became very aware of my clenched fists and started towards a separate row of cars.

"Come on, y'all. Just look around, gather what you can." Shane said after a moment of silence. I made a note to apologise to Lori later; I'll blame it on the sun, or the whirlwind of grief we've been wrapped up in lately. There really ain't a need for ceremony here; the zombies have no need for bottled water and gas. I scoffed at my own pissy attitude as Hannah quickly skipped after me. We walked over to a nearby car together, hand in hand. I chose our cars selectively, double checking there were no inhabitants whatsoever. I started going through the trunk as Hannah explored the back seat.

"Georgie, look what I found." Hannah exclaimed as she poked her head out.  
I looked up and saw the happy grin plastered on her face as she held up a notepad. I was sure Dale would be thankful Hannah's creative energy would be redirected from his old Yosemite road maps.

"Good job, Nana." I said, "Why don't you head back to the RV and pop it in your back pack?"

She nodded, clamoured out of the car and ran towards the RV.

"You doin' okay George?" Rick drawled as he approached with his rifle.

"I have to be." I half-smiled back at him "Just like you said."

He dropped his stance and with his one free arm pulled me tightly into an embrace. "I'm damn glad you're here, kid."

I smiled back genuinely at the man as he headed back towards the RV. I looked up and saw Hannah on the roof with Dale. That's probably the safest place for her right now, I thought to myself. He was fishing a biro out of his shirt pocket and passed it down to the little girl. My heart warmed at the sight.

I moved briskly onto the next car and noticed a booster seat in the back. There used to be a little kid in this car. The car seat looked around Hannah's size. Purely on a hunch I wandered round to the trunk and found a few clothes packed into a small suitcase. I exhaled deeply and stuffed a few shirts and pants into a backpack. They were boy's clothes but the labels informed me they were merely one size bigger than my niece's size. I found some more food under the front seats. In the glove compartment, there was a fancy hunting style knife in an engraved leather sheath.

"Jackpot" I whispered before tucking it into my back pocket.

I was about to walk ahead when a hand was thrown over my mouth and an arm around my waist dragged me backwards. "Shhh" I heard Rick whisper in my ear as I struggled. "Walkers"

"Hannah!" I whispered as he pushed me down under the truck.

"She's with Dale. She's safe. Get down!" Rick replied as he followed me under, our knees and elbows scraping across the ground.

I tucked everything in fiercely and turned to my left to see Carl and Sophia hiding under the cars immediately next to us, they were shaking. I mouthed to them both, "Just, look at me." They both nodded, Sophia was trembling but somehow managing to hold her tears in. The groans grew ever louder and the first set of decomposing feet trudged past us. My gaze kept firmly on the children, back and forth between them; I kept mouthing "It's okay. It's alright. We're okay." My right hand flopped down and was immediately grasped by Rick. I wondered seriously whether the sounds of our rapid hearts would give us away. Time was passing excruciatingly slowly. My body felt heavy as I focussed solely on not moving an inch. I was counting my blessings that I couldn't hear anyone screaming. I couldn't hear Hannah cry out for me. She must be hidden. She must be okay. I couldn't hear a damn thing, outside of my heart beating in my ears and the groaning mob clattering their way through. Rick's hand in mine would flinch at the crunch of trodden glass or a sluggish body thumping into a car.

Their numbers were dissipating, slowly but surely. After an extended period of no walkers, Rick and I turned to face each other and exhaled with a smile.

Our joy was short-lived. Our hearts stopped suddenly at Sophia's whimpers. We saw her scramble out from under a car and tumble down the embankment. I scrambled swiftly out from under the truck, my newly-acquired knife firmly in hand and started stealthily running in her direction. She was headed into the forest with two walkers in pursuit. The embankment was a steep drop down into overgrowth; I tumbled down as quickly as possible, rather haphazardly. As I regained my footing, I heard the deputy stumble closely after me. We ran parallel with Sophia until Rick held his arm out to stop me.

"I'll get the stragglers, you get Sophia." he hissed.

"I have a knife!" I hissed back, indicating the need to reverse the plan. I had silent means of dispatching them. He nodded before we separated and continued running. I heard walkers moaning in the proximity. There was no time to second guess anything. I used the element of surprise, provided by the dense shrubs, to dispose of one of the monsters. My knife embedded itself in the brain. I ran back towards Rick until I came upon a small river and I slid down the slippery embankment. The icy still water shocked me as I fell to my hands and knees. I scrabbled amongst the icy still water before I froze for a moment at the sound of rustling until I heard another splash. I grabbed my knife and prepared myself to stab the walker, but it was Rick.

"Where's Sophia?" I asked as he helped me to my feet, shivering.

"I had her climb a tree. Walkers?" he questioned.

"Clear behind me, I think. Climb a tree?" I answered. I looked over his shoulders.

I heard the dreaded moans moments before they suddenly appeared beside the creek and fell in. We slowly travelled up the river, having the walkers follow. Rick motioned to take a walker each. I nodded, my hand shakily grasping my knife.  
I scrambled out of the creek and back onto dry land, tossing pebbles at one walker to follow me whilst the other trailed after Rick. I ran blindly, hearing it snarling and grasping after me. I fell upon a tree and threw myself behind it, waiting for the walker to catch up. Once I heard it stumble upon the trees, I gripped the hilt of my knife and tackled it to the ground before stabbing it in the eye. I stabbed it a few times before jogging back towards the river, desperately trying to catch my breath.

"Georgia!" I heard a hushed whisper.

I looked over and saw Rick limping over to me.

"Come on. Let's get Sophia." He motioned me towards the tree he'd left her at.  
I knew we'd reached the tree when he stopped abruptly. I looked up and didn't see her. I looked at Rick's sunken face. My breath had finally returned to its regular rhythm and began its ascent again as I searched the surrounding area.

"Sophia?!"

When there was no response, Rick kicked the tree in frustration.

"You sure this is the tree?" I asked.

I looked up and saw a torn piece of fabric on a branch, the same colour as Sophia's blue shirt with the faded rainbow emblazoned on it. No…

"Yeah, I'm sure." he answered, pointing at the shirt piece my eyes were clamped on.

"Why would she bail? I wouldn't fancy my chances on the ground!" I did a large circuit of the area.

"Maybe she spooked, ran back on the highway, let's go." Rick replied, grabbing my arm to turn back. I surveyed the area ferociously. We headed back towards the highway where the others, and hopefully Sophia, were waiting for us.


	19. Season 2: Mountains of Tibet

"Georgie!" I heard Hannah cry as she ran over.

"Hey, baby, watch I'm soggy." I whispered as I patted down her hair.

"Where's Sophia?" I heard Carol's small voice.

No… She did not just ask that. My eyes rose up slowly. Her face was pure white. I looked around, noting the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"She-she's not back?" shakily, the question fell from my lips.

Carol let out a sob and Lori wrapped her arm around her shoulders. I turned to face Rick, "We have to go back."

"T-Dog needs you!" Dale bellowed and beckoned me inside the RV.

"What? Rick-" I started.

"I'll take Daryl, Glenn, and Shane." He replied.

"Go." Daryl said and brushed past me, "I'll help look for the girl."

"That was real stupid, George. Coulda been you for dinner. What were you thinking?" Shane uttered.

I sighed at my brother's comments, placing a heavy hand on Hannah's shoulder as she hugged my leg. Daryl grabbed his crossbow from his back and left with Rick, Glenn, and Shane, but not before shooting me a cold look. I frowned in confusion as I watched him leave. I sighed again, before heading in to the RV to treat T-Dog's wound on his arm.

"What happened?" Lori asked me after I was finished as Andrea took Hannah aside.

"She was being chased by some walkers. Rick put her up into a tree, told her that if Rick and I didn't come back, to come back here. When she wasn't in the tree, Rick thought that she came back here." I rushed through the words, attempting to process them as they fell out of my mouth. "He didn't have a choice, there were too many, more in the woods, he was leading them away, I was to clean up after-"

Lori embraced me; I took a moment and exhaled as I embraced her back. "I'm soaking." My eye's lined with fresh tears. I can't go through this again. She may not be my blood, but it matters not. She's a part of our family. She's just a little girl.  
I changed into Daryl's shirt from that night, begrudgingly; it was the only other item of clothing I had along with Amy's old shorts. I propped my drenched clothes and converse on top of the Hyundai to dry in the baking sun.

"I found the bag you had while you were searching. I thought you might be hungry." Kim said, almost rehearsed.

I nodded as she placed the bag and some extra crackers down on top of the hood. I cleared my throat "Thanks, Kim."

She nodded before adding, "There's flip flops of mine in there, 'til yours dry out, don't wanna stand in this shit, I guess." The ground was a little gross, to be fair.

A while later, Shane and Glenn came back and we were given a few tasks to occupy our worries, such as clearing the highway.

"Why aren't we all out there looking?" Carol wandered over to Dale, "Why are we moving cars?"

"We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it's running. Now that we have fuel we can double back to a bypass that Georgia flagged on the map." Dale informed her.

"Going back's gonna be easier than trying to get through this mess." Shane piped in.

"We're not going anywhere 'til my daughter gets back." Carol scorned.

"Hey, that goes without saying." Lori rubbed Carol's shoulder.

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? Just a matter of time" Shane pacified her worry.

"Can't be soon enough for me; I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it." Andrea shuddered.

"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching along like that" Glenn asked

"A herd. That sounds about right." Shane replied, "We've seen it. It's like the night camp got attacked; some wandering pack, only fewer. Okay, come on people. We still got a lot to do. Let's stay on it."

Hannah stayed with Carl and Lori as I headed out towards Shane.  
"Now's not the time, Georgia." He scratched his head.  
"It is." He looked me up and down a couple of times.

"Look, peach, they'll find her. She still woulda ran regardless, don't you dare beat yourself up about it."  
"I'd really rather beat up you." My voice cracked but I held it together long enough for him to sigh and give in.  
"Alrigh' c'mon."  
Shane was certified in a bunch of self-defence training courses. He delivered them routinely at the community centre; crime in King County was usually verging on tumbleweed status so the Police had numerous outreach programmes predominantly to satisfy their boredom. He attempted to go over some defensive moves but I was only interested in utilising offense. He blocked every single blow, of course, and as I panted in exertion, he swept my leg and pinned me to the ground. The grassy floor was surprisingly solid.

"Ya still got a long way to go, peach. Don't forget everything you've learnt when you're actually in the shitter." He yanked me up with one hand.

 _"_ _The emergency alert system has been activated. The Office of Civil Defence has issued the following message: Normal broadcasting will cease immediately."_ A radio announcement stuttered from behind us, it was coming from the Hyundai.

"Uhhh, guys!" Glenn waved his arms to gather everyone's attention towards my car. He and Shane had been tinkering with it all afternoon.

 _"_ _This is a civil emergency. Please do not venture out."_ The words echoed in our chests, the pure emptiness and lack of comfort they provided was startling.

"Is that a local signal?" Glenn looked bemused at the noise.

"It's gotta be within 50 miles of here." Dale uttered.

 _"_ _Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated."_ The announcement began to loop again but Shane shut it off prematurely and uttered, "Asshole. Okay…let's get back to work."

I saw Carol looking stoically towards the woods and contemplated approaching her. I massaged my bruised arm and wondered whether she saw me as I saw Kim. I had honestly tried though; I needed her to know that. We were up shit creek without a paddle.

When the sun started to settle down, Andrea came over and touched Carol on the arm. She jumped out of her fixation on the tree line.

"It's late. Gonna be dark soon." Carol said.

"They'll find her." Andrea replied.

As if on cue, Rick and Daryl came back. Sophia was not with them.

"You didn't find her?" Carol questioned; her voice pained and small.

"Her trail went cold." Rick replied. "We'll pick it up again at first light."

"You can't leave my daughter out there alone to spend the night in the woods." Carol said.

"Out in the dark's no good." Daryl responded, "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people'll get lost."

"But she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own." Carol pleaded, "You didn't find anything?"

"I know this is hard. But I'm asking you not to panic." Rick said. "We know she was out there."

"We tracked her for a while." Daryl added.

"We have to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick said.

"Is that blood?" Carol asked, looking at Daryl's jeans. She started breathing heavily and Lori rubbed her shoulders.

"We took down a walker." Rick answered for him.

"A walker? Oh god."

"There was no sign it was ever near Sophia." Rick told her.

"How can you know that?" I asked.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure." Daryl answered.

Carol sighed and sat on the railing and Lori sat next to her, she erupted, "How could you just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her? You wouldn't leave Carl or Hannah!"

"The walkers were on us. We had to draw them off. It was her best chance."

"Sounds like he didn't have a choice, Carol." Shane backed up his friend. 'He' didn't have a choice. He wasn't the only one who ran after her.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own? She's just a child. She's just a child!" Carol cried.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make." Rick shouldered the blame, I motioned to say something but Shane cut me off.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that." He uttered.

"My little girl got left in the woods." Carol cried out. Andrea and Lori surrounded the broken woman as the group dispersed in defeat. Rick stormed off alone. I stepped back and embraced Hannah tightly. I could only imagine the pain I'd feel were it Hannah lost in the woods tonight.

I leant against the hood of a truck and sighed. I'd managed to settle Hannah down for the night in the RV but couldn't find rest myself.

"You alrigh'?" I heard Daryl ask as he approached me. He was glaring down at my arm and I noticed there was now a bruise, I shook my head and pulled my arm under the other one, wincing "Yeah."

It must have arisen from the training sessions I'd undertaken with Shane. He kicked the tyre and leaned next to me, "If anything had happened to you too-"

"There wasn't exactly time to ponder over a plan." I exhaled at his apparent guilt which certainly lacked logic. "Besides, you can't always be there. This male assertive protect the little lady act is getting old. I can take care of myself."

Daryl scoffed "Oh yeah, ya gonna bore them to death?"

"Hey, don't be an ass." I stood in front of him as he raised himself off the hood. "I've been training with Shane-"

Daryl froze but his gaze remained fixed on the ground.

"I will not be helpless again." I scratched my head in a small voice.

He let out a small scoff before gently taking my arm, examining where the bruise was, and exhaled, "Running head first into Walkers is the way?"

"Daryl, I can't stand by anymore and just wait for someone to save me. It's not an option. I have to be ready. I'm not losing- …bruises disappear." I whispered as I slipped out of his grasp.

Daryl huffed, "Tomorrow, everyone's gonna go out and look for Sophia. T-Dog and Dale are stayin' behind, along with you and Hannah, alright?"

I looked him square in the eye, "Did you hear a word I've said? I'm not some dainty princess that needs sheltering. I can help!"

"T-Dog needs your help. You need to protect the base, chance to practice those fancy new skills of yours."

And with that, Daryl slammed his fist on the bonnet and stormed off. I didn't know what this was, but after that day, I really didn't care.

That night, I joined Dale on watch on top of the RV. I relished cooling off in the quiet, although my mind wouldn't grant me reprieve.

"You should get some sleep. Can't shake this hunch we're gonna need it." Dale finally uttered into the silence.

"I couldn't…even if I wanted to, Dale." I uttered back.

Daryl later emerged from the RV with his crossbow strapped to his back.

"I'm goin' for a walk. Shine some light in the forest. If she's out there, give her somethin' to look at." Daryl said to us.

"I'll go, too." I replied, climbing down the ladder.

"You think that's a good idea right now?" Dale asked.

"We'll be back soon." I told him before we walked down the highway.

We walked in the forest silently; the only noise was the bugs and frogs by the creek.

"Am I ever gettin' that back?" Daryl broke the silence, nodding at his shirt.

"Probably not" I smiled.

"Looks better on you anyway" He drawled and held some overgrowth back for me to pass easier. Gee, what a gentleman.

"You think we'll find her?" I asked.

"Well, it ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She's probably holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and survive. It's happens all the time." He answered.

"She's only twelve." I said.

"Hell, I was younger than her and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eatin' berries and wipin' my ass with poison oak." Daryl replied.

"They found you?" I questioned.

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doin' another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back, though. Went straight to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched somethin' awful."

I let out a laugh and covered my mouth, "I'm sorry. That's a terrible story."

We both laughed before Daryl spoke, "Only difference is Sophia's got people looking for her. I call that an advantage."

"We got more in common than you think, Dixon." I smiled into the darkness. He tilted his head in confusion.

"Run that one by me again." He drawled.

"We're both the baby in the family, mom's dying in accidents, drunken daddies, juvie brothers," I turned to face him.

"I reckon long walks on the beach and country music sounds better than that rap sheet." He scoffed and stopped suddenly, "Why didn't you ask me?"

"I didn't think you'd help me." I walked a few more steps before realising he wasn't following me. "Shane taught me how to shoot."

He sighed and scratched his eyebrow. "It makes sense. But what happened, back in Atlanta, it wasn't your fault. We're all shouldering it."

We both rose to attention at the sound of rustling. Daryl pointed his crossbow towards the noise and we started walking. Eventually we came upon a tent and the tree above us started shaking. I pointed my flashlight towards the leaves, "What the hell?"

There was a walker hanging in the tree by a rope. He started gagging and reaching his arms toward us.

"Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit." Daryl read.

"Poetic." I commented.

"Dumb ass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head." Daryl said. "Turned himself into a big swinging piece of bait. And a mess."

The smell of decomposition hit my nose and I gagged, leaning against my knees.

"You all right?" Daryl asked.

"Trying not to puke." I answered.

"Go ahead if you gotta." He replied.

"No, I'm fine." I said, straightening back up.

"Looks like other geeks came and ate all of the flesh off his legs." He said.

"Seriously?" I questioned.

"Payback for laughing about my itchy ass." Daryl replied.

"Hey," I nudged him, "You were laughing, too."

He let out a small chuckle, "Let's head back."

I watched the walker until Daryl patted my arm, motioning it was time to leave.


	20. Season 2: Save the Last One

The group gathered around the hood of a car early the next morning. Rick laid out an arsenal and ordered, "Everybody takes a weapon."

I hung back waiting for the search team to finish selecting the best weapons, I didn't want to impede on their task, besides the knife I'd bagged yesterday was rather swish.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need." Andrea replied. "What about the guns?"

"We've been over that." Shane said. "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about." Andrea snapped. "Besides, Georgia has one! I guess the rules don't apply to Walsh's."

I rolled my eyes at her snotty remark as Shane fired back, "Base camp needs protecting. Say somebody fires at the wrong moment and a herd happens to be passing by. See, then its game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side." Daryl said. "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other. Dale you keep on those repairs. We gotta get this RV ready to move." Rick ordered.

I walked over towards a sleepy Hannah, poking her head out of the RV. I crouched down before her, "We're gonna be super busy today, Banana. You done yawning?" The little girl shook her head and I smiled, "Cheeky monkey."

I helped Hannah clamber up to the top of the RV to sit with Dale, who seemed withdrawn after an encounter with Andrea. I decided to go through some more cars; on the odd chance any contained something to help T-Dog. We were running low on our Atlanta supplies. The cars were mostly stuffed with suitcases full of clothes. It was oddly interesting to see everyone panic packed the same thing. I found some clothes that were roughly my size. After putting them in a bag, I carried them back over to the RV, along with some paracetamol. It was basic but hopefully his fever could be quelled a little longer. When the sun was high in the sky, I knew it was probably approaching around noon. I grabbed some jerky and gave it to Hannah. I never seemed to notice my own hunger until Hannah was fed.

A few hours later the group still wasn't back. I was starting to worry. To keep myself occupied, I played checkers with Hannah in the shade of the RV.

"Will Sophia be okay?" Hannah's face shot up to mine.

"Of course, baby, look at the team that's out for her." I answered whilst taking another mental note to not make promises I couldn't keep.

She gripped my hand tightly "Ethan will take care of her."

I stumbled for a second before offering a half-smile "Not just yet."

Then I heard it, distant but clear: a gunshot. My blood ran cold.

"Do you hear that?" I turned to Dale, who was scrambling for his binoculars. It sounded like…a horse? It was rapidly galloping towards us from the forest.

I grabbed my pistol and pushed Hannah into the RV. Dale mimicked my stance with his rifle. A blonde teenage girl was making her way furiously towards us.  
"Doctor Georgia?!" she bellowed towards us and skidded to a halt.

"Um, that's me?" I lowered my gun a little in bemusement.

"Carl has been shot. Rick says you're a surgeon; he's up at my daddy's farm. You need to come with me right now!" the girl was flustered and spoke at a million miles an hour.

"I-what-oh my god! Who are you?" I stumbled over my words.

"There's no time!" she cried. "Get on!"

I turned back to Dale.

"Go, go!" he went as far as to give me a boost on to the back of the mighty horse. "Soak a T-shirt and keep it on his head! Hannah, listen to Dale!" I shouted at Dale to medicate T-Dog. The teenager bellowed instructions at Dale to reach the farm before cantering off back the way she came.

My mind was spinning, how the hell had Carl been shot?

We descended upon an open expanse of fields. A beautiful farmhouse stood in the centre. The sun was disappearing now; the entire grounds were bathed in golden light. I squinted to see a girl pacing back and forth across the porch steps. Her head shot up at the sound of our approach.

"Where is he?!" I cried out as she helped us down.

"This way!" The new girl grabbed my wrist and led me towards the house, "I'm Maggie, my father Hershel is a Vet but he'll need all the help he can get."

Maggie led me through the house and immediately into a dining room.

"You're completely in over your head aren't you?" Lori seethed. Rick sat flopped in a dining chair beside her, she was keeping him upright.

"Ma'am, aren't we all." An older gentleman drawled from across the table.

They all span, some slower than others, at our arrival. Lori embraced me tightly and shook.

"Oh thank god!" she wailed, "You'll know what to do! Georgia!"

"Where is he?" I uttered at the older man as I pulled my hair back roughly into a top knot.

Hershel informed me there was nothing to be done at the moment, that Shane and Otis were gathering our supplies. 6 fragments had scattered deeply, he'd only been able to retrieve one and internal bleeding looked definite.

My blood ran cold at the sight of Carl, pale as the sheets he lay on.

"Maggie, grab Rick, I'll need another pint." Hershel drawled from behind me.

"Another? How many has he given?" I asked as I worked over Carl.

"This'll be number 3."

My eyes widened. "I'm O neg', should we need it." I began to roll up my sleeve and ordered another round of coagulates.

The sun had set what felt like hours ago. I never left Carl's side, only taking a break to munch biscuits and down orange juice to build up my strength from my own blood donation. Carl's pressure was dropping to a level I was far from comfortable with. I was already antsy and Hershel was mimicking my distress.

"You're Shane's sister." Hershel sat back in his chair.

"That I am." I exhaled.

"You're still in medical school." His words forever resonated as statements, never a questioning tone to his voice.

"No, I'm done. Pretty newly done, but still done." I babbled as I continued working.

"You still have a lot to learn then." He drawled.

It was incredibly frustrating being this helpless. There was only so much we could do to keep him relatively stable. We were running out of time, he'd already endured 2 seizures, his stomach was so distended.

As if on cue, Shane roared up the drive and the Grimes and Hershel burst through the door to grab a bag off of him.

"Got it all." Hershel breathed.

I ripped open the bag and threw an IV at Patricia and disinfectant at Hershel, "Let's get preppin'. Holy crap, this is a good haul!"

"I'm gonna have to ask we refrain from blaspheming, Doctor." Hershel scolded and began sterilising the wound.

I pinged surgical gloves on and threw a pair to Hershel. I ordered the lamp to be dragged over, "hold that up or fix it somehow, gonna need as much visibility as we can muster."

The Grimes were standing weakly in the doorway, "Rick, Lori, I love you but I cannot operate on your boy with y'all breathing down my neck. Step out. Patricia, you're on the respiratory rhythm? I'm gonna need it down another beat, nice and slow." I looked up at Hershel. "You ready, doctor?"

"He seems to have stabilized." Hershel announced as we stepped outside into the cool night air.

"Oh god" Rick stumbled and embraced Hershel whilst Lori embraced me tightly.

"I don't have words." She cried.

"I don't either. Wish I did." Hershel's smile fell, "How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"

"About Otis?" I was mighty confused and scanned the group. Glenn and T-Dog were sat on the porch bench, Shane leaned uneasily against a pick-up truck, Maggie and Jimmy had followed us out here. No Otis.

"You go to Carl. I'll go with Hershel." Rick drawled to his wife. The men left and Lori ran back inside to her son. Shane sauntered after her.

"He's gonna be okay?" Glenn tapped my shoulder lightly.

My gaze kept on Shane as he brushed past me inside the house.

"Carl will be." I uttered.


	21. Season 2: Cherokee Rose

I awoke to the sound of a certain motorcycle chugging down the farm road. I stretched out of the awkward position I'd slept in and peered out through the dated doily curtains. Sure enough, led by Daryl, the RV, a new blue pick-up and Hyundai bumbled towards the house. I glanced back at Carl and checked on his status, he was doing remarkably well.

Tentatively, I rubbed my shoulders and back, sleeping curled up in an old arm chair had done wonders for my body. The rest of the farm was already up and about, assembling…rocks?

"Good morning, doctor." Hershel beckoned me over and asked on Carl's status, echoed by the boy's parents drifting over. I assured the group I was pleased and stunned at the drop in his fever.

"Thought you might need a little more shut eye, given last night's theatrics." The elderly man uttered to me before continuing to throw rocks into the wheelbarrow. Lori took me to the side gently and informed me about Otis. Apparently the man was Patricia's husband. He'd gone with Shane to get the medical stuff for Carl, and he didn't make it. They were making a memorial for him, a place for his wife to visit and grieve. The rest of our group pulled up front and we all wandered over.

"How is he?" Dale asked.

"He'll pull through, thanks to Hershel and his people, and getting Georgia here." Lori answered warmly.

"And Shane." Rick added. "We'd lost Carl if not for him."

I looked over to my brother and noticed he'd shaved off his hair. His face seemed sunken and distant. Dale hugged Rick and Carol hugged Lori. Glenn wandered over and fist-bumped me.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked.

"Hunting accident." Rick answered. "Just a stupid accident."

Supplies had been left on the highway along with a makeshift sign instructing Sophia to stay put; we'd be back every day at noon. Surrounded by the chaos and stress on this farm, my focus had slipped from our original tragedy.

"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hershel read from the bible as members of his family placed boulders upon the mound. "Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace."  
Hershel turned to look at Shane, "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"  
"I'm not good at it." Shane replied. "I'm sorry."  
"You were the last one with him." Patricia sobbed, "You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

"Okay." Shane whispered meekly, "We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. We've got to save the boy. See, that's what he said. He gave me his back pack and shoved me ahead. Run, he said. He said, I'll take the rear. I'll cover you. And when I looked back..." Shane paused and looked at Patricia, "If not for Otis, I'd never made it out alive."

Shane limped forward and grabbed a rock and placed it on the memorial, "And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

As Shane placed the small boulder on top of the grave, I felt a shiver run down my spine. His voice: small and broken. His eyes: darting and distant. Something wasn't sitting right with me.

After the funeral for Otis was done, our group started setting up camp, leaving the Greene family some privacy to mourn their loved one. As Shane hobbled past me I uttered, "hey, I didn't know you got hurt, let me take a look at you."

He shook out of my touch and proceeded to shake his head before wandering off. I felt Daryl's presence behind me and whispered "I can't shake the feeling there's more to that."

"Same." Daryl drawled. "You alrigh'? Intense night."

I turned to face him and nodded pensively, "Yeah. We're outta the woods, for now." I moved past him, grabbing the gun out of my waistband and checking the rounds.

"Where ya goin'?" Daryl asked.

"I'm gonna help search for Sophia." I answered, matter-of-factly, turning to face him.

"No, you ain't." He replied equally as tersely.

"I'll take that under advisement." I responded shortly.

"Ain't ya running on half empty?"

"Daryl." I sighed, "I want to help. I need to."

"Tell ya what. Today, you replace yer innards, and tomorrow I'll let ya help with the searchin'." Daryl said.

I scoffed, "You'll let me?"

"Came out wrong"

"Daryl, why won't you let this go?"

He seemed frustrated, he realised the parallels I was referring to, and he understood the deep desire to help. He paused and stepped back, raising his hands in slight defeat. I continued on over to the car where Maggie was laying down a map on the hood.

"How long's this girl been missing?" Hershel enquired.

"This'll be day three." Shane uttered.

"County survey map shows terrain and elevations." Maggie laid rocks on the map to keep it down.

"This is perfect, we can finally get this thing organised." Rick enthused, "We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."

"Not you. Not today." Hershel ordered.

"You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out." I echoed Hershel's concern.

"That goes for you too. You're out today." Hershel cut me down. I scowled back at the old man; hey I just backed you up, Gramps!

Daryl smirked at me.

"And your ankle, push it now, you'll be laid up a month. No good to anybody." Hershel's tirade found a new target in Shane.

"I guess it's just me." Daryl exhaled and commandeered the map, "I'm gonna work my way back to the creek, search there."

"I can still be useful. I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back." Shane declared.

"Alright, tomorrow then. We'll start doing this right." Rick sighed in defeat.

"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Shane piped up.

"I'd prefer you not carry guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel knocked his suggestion back.

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here." Shane scoffed

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick declared and placed his pistol on top of the car, followed by Shane slamming his down. "First things first: set camp, find Sophia."

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." Shane uttered.

"You do what has to be done." Rick responded grimly.

"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie exchanged a look with Hershel, who shook his head in response.

"The truth." Andrea stated matter-of-factly.

"Gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site." Rick ordered.

"I do request one rifleman on lookout." Shane implored, "Dale's got experience."

"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick piped in.

Hershel slowly, reluctantly, nodded his head.

Shane perched himself on the porch steps and beckoned me over as I crossed his path. My brother looked worn out, and antsy all wrapped up in one.

"Thank you, for working your magic on Carl, Peach." He rubbed his eyes, holding his hands over them for a moment.

"You don't need to thank me, Shane." I uttered back.

"No, I do." He sighed, "Jesse's boy. His face is etched in my mind, Georgia. I keep running it over and over. Had he not gone on that damn suicide city mission, all these damn what ifs."

"What if Olivia hadn't gone running that day. What if Jesse wasn't a dick rotting in jail. What if I hadn't let him wander off? What if I hadn't taken my eyes off him? What if the dead weren't rising up and eating people." I flapped my arms about nonchalantly, "I'm tired of going over the same damn what ifs myself, Shane. They get you nowhere. Ethan's still dead. Olivia's still dead. Ain't no amount of mulling over's gonna change that."

Glenn opportunely skidded up to our conversation and frantically summoned us over to the well. Dale and T-Dog had apparently found a new friend. The growls echoed up the well and stopped my heart before we'd even arrived at the structure. A very bloated and wet walker was blobbing around inside the well. Shit.

"Looks like we've got us a swimmer." Dale said, shining his flashlight at the walker.

"How long do you think he's been down there?" Glenn asked.

"Long enough to grow gills." Andrea replied.

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what it's doing to the water." Lori said.

"We got to get it out." Shane said.

"Easy." T-Dog commented. "Put a bullet in its head. I'll get a rope."

"Whoa, whoa, guys. No." Maggie replied.

"Why not? It's a good plan." Glenn asked.

"It's a stupid plan." I replied, "If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out will finish the job."

"She's right." Shane responded, "Can't risk it."

"So it has to come out alive?" T-Dog asked.

"So to speak." Shane answered.

"And how exactly do we do that?" Glenn questioned.

We grabbed Dale's fishing line and Maggie gave us canned ham. As the ham was lowered closer and closer, we collectively sucked in our breath, waiting for an impact.

"He's not going for it." Dale said.

"Maybe because a canned ham don't kick and scream when you try to eat it." T-Dog replied.

"He's right." Lori said, "There's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding our cupboards."

"We need live bait." Andrea said.

Everyone looked at Glenn.

Shane tied a rope around the reluctant Glenn as he perched on the edge of the well.

"Have I mentioned I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaped head." Glenn started muttering nervously to Shane.

"Don't worry about it, bud. We're gonna get you out of here in one piece." Shane said.

"A living piece. The living part is important." he replied before wrapping the other rope around his shoulders. "Nice and slow, please."

"We got you." Andrea replied.

"Oh, you people are crazy." Maggie commented.

"You want to get it out of your well or not?" Shane asked. "Give us an eye there, Georgia."

Glenn grabbed the pipe that ran across the opening of the well and lowered him down.

"Doin' okay?" I knelt down and asked.

"Doing great." Glenn's voice echoed. "Living the dream."

The walker looked up and lashed out, desperately reaching up to him. He took the rope from his shoulders and tried to wrap it around the creature.

"A little lower, just a little." I uttered to the team feeding the rope.

Then, all of the sudden, the supports gave way and the rope pinged down. I jumped onto the recoiling rope, rapidly disappearing down the well like a tape measure retracting back. I slammed into the stone edge of the well as my body weight couldn't completely hold it down. Glenn was dropped a few feet, right above the walker.

Glenn screamed from the well, "NOT COOL! Get me out!"

I gripped onto the rope tightly, it burned through my hands. By now the rest of the guys had caught on and began lugging the rope back up. My side radiated with the pain of slamming into the stone.

"Whaaaa, shit! Balls! Get me out of here!" Glenn yelled again as I peered over the edge, watching him raise higher, away from the thing.

When he got high enough, I grabbed the pipe and pulled him up. Shane and Lori ran over and pulled him further onto land.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked.

Glenn coughed and nodded, "Fine. I'm fine."

"Nice catch, sis." Shane slapped my back. I winced at my delicate side.

"Back to the drawing board." Dale said.

"Says you." He grinned as he stood up.

Dale was handed the rope, and noticed upon tugging, the weight on the other end. I stood next to Maggie, caressing my side, as the others pulled the walker up. They had to bring a horse over to help pull it. Eventually we got it out, but it got wedged on to the stone. I ran over to help pull, but the walker split in half. The lower half and some assorted guts spilled back into the water and the top half was still on the ground, snarling and trying to grab us. Its insides and spine was hanging out of the bottom for all of us to see. I looked away trying my very best not to puke.

"We should seal off this well." Dale said.

"Yeah, might be a good idea." Shane replied.

"So what do we do about-" Andrea started.

She was interrupted by T-Dog, who used a wrench and smashed the walker's head in.

"Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it." T-Dog said.

After we got cleaned up, Shane, Andrea, and Carol left to go back to the highway to see if Sophia was there. To keep myself busy, I decided to play the old six-string that was lying on the porch. Hershel's daughter, Beth had beaten me to it. She was quietly singing a Dixie Chick's song to herself but stopped the instant she heard someone coming.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." I smiled warmly. "You sounded great! You been playing long?"

She proclaimed she'd been hoping to improve but her dad hadn't found time.

"My daddy was a guitar man. Spent all the money he ever made on either booze or guitars. I was right hooked on them when I was younger, tryin' to impress him, ya know."

Beth handed over the guitar, to which I plucked away lightly, tuning it slightly.

"I got a gnarly burn on my hand from the um, Well incident." I frowned at my stinging hand and passed the guitar back to Beth, "What stuff do you like to play?"

We spent a good hour or two just talking about music and bands and boys, it was rather refreshing after everything. Eventually, Beth was called away by her father who greeted me with a rather hefty, dusty textbook, should I wish to brush up on anything. I took it as a friendly gesture, rather than a diss at my skillset. I lost myself amongst the pages for god knows how long.

"Hey, didn't know you were back." I said, placing the textbook down beside me.

"Just got back." Daryl replied, sitting next to me on the porch steps.

"Nothing?" I asked, although his face said it all.

"No. But I found a place where I think she was at." Daryl answered before looking down at my bandaged hand, "What happened?"

"There was a walker in one of the wells. Glenn went down to put a rope around it. His rope slipped, I tried to grab it." I answered.

"Well that was beyond stupid." He huffed and looked out towards the camp, "I was out of line earlier. It was my deal, not yours."

I rested my head on his shoulder and we sat there for a while.


	22. Season 2: Chupacabra

"Everyone's getting a new search grid today." Rick assembled us around the map "If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."  
"I'd like to help." Jimmy said from behind Rick, "I know the area pretty well and stuff."  
"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked.  
"Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you." Jimmy answered.  
"All right then. Thanks."  
"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." Shane said. "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."  
"Anybody includes Sophia, right?" I replied.  
"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl said raising his hand to a child's height.  
"It's a good lead." Andrea commented.  
"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick replied.  
"No maybe about it." Daryl pointed to a ridge on the map, "I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."  
"Good idea." T-Dog commented. "Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there, too."  
"Chupacabra?" Rick questioned.  
"You never heard this?" Dale said as he handed us our guns, "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminded him of a time when he went squirrels hunting and he saw a chupacabra."  
Jimmy let out a laugh and Daryl glared at him, "What are you braying at, jackass?"  
"You believe in a blood-sucking dog?" Jimmy asked.  
"Do you believe dead people walking around?" Daryl barked back.  
Jimmy didn't reply and went to grab the shot gun from the hood of the car,  
"Hey, hey. Ever fire one before?" Rick asked.  
"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy replied.  
"Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees." Daryl responded, putting his crossbow on his back.  
"Why don't you come train tomorrow?" Shane asked the kid. "If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor."  
"For now, he can come with me." Andrea beckoned the boy back over.  
"He's yours to babysit then." Shane brushed past her.  
Andrea and Jimmy were assigned a grid; followed by Glenn and T-Dog, and as Dale passed me a rifle I let out an audible sigh; I'd been left with Kim.

"I'll head out with Red." Shane stepped out and beckoned her to follow. I mouthed a 'thank you' which was met with a nod. I didn't realise in that exact moment, but his sacrifice wasn't just for me.

Rick handed over a hammer, nails, and some red cloth to pin to the trees. I stuffed the items in my backpack and we were off. I'd asked Lori to keep a firm eye on Hannah whilst we were gone, so at least I could concentrate on the task at hand, fully. Rick and I didn't talk very much initially; he'd get this tell-tale look in his eyes when he was lost in thought. I noticed how haggard he looked, like he hadn't slept in a really long time. I offered to drive us out to our grid to which he wearily accepted. The drive was mostly spent glued to the windows, looking around for any sign Sophia was ever near here. We drove deeply into a forest track and began our march on foot. I may not be as great as a tracker as Daryl, but I know a track when I see one. There were no indications of Sophia anywhere.

"You remember the name of that waitress at the Dairy Queen, when we were all in High School?" Rick broke the silence as I passed him a piece of cloth to hammer.

"When y'all were in High School I was playing hopscotch and having my pigtails pulled." I laughed as I kept watch.

Rick scoffed and tucked the hammer in his waistband, "You always seemed a lot older than you were, I forgot about that."

"You mean Maryanne?" I squinted in the harsh sun poking through the leaves.

"Yeah! That's her. Benny's sister." Rick led the way through the forest.

"Why'd you bring her up?" I asked, curiously.

"I don't know, her folks were from out this way. I was wondering where everyone would end up, you know."

"You say it like it's another state over, it's only a county, or maybe two. She probably made it back here." I had often thought this over too. My friends back in Boston, my brother Jesse, my high school friends…odds are I could guess exactly what had happened to them.

"You knew her?" Rick pulled me out from my funk.

"Oh yeah, she was coaching our dance team for a while, she was a total bitch. Not to me of course, as Shane was sleeping with her, she wanted to get in nice with me."

Rick stopped dead in his tracks and bolted round, a tickled look on his face, "You were in a dance team?"

I scoffed and brushed past the man, "That was a lifetime ago." I could still here him chuckling behind me.

"Funny how quickly your accent's coming back, hanging round us again. How long you been up there now?" He chuckled.

I sighed deeply and dispelled our saunter down memory lane, "Left at 17, turning 26. Look, it doesn't really sit right talking about that stuff, ya know? That life, and everyone in it; gone. It's like we're old people, everyone in our stories are dead."

"We can't just forget them." Rick uttered from behind me.

"The hell we can't." My arms felt heavier under the weight of the rifle as I scoffed, "It's hard enough accepting what's happened, without digging up the past. I'll tell you what it is. Nostalgia; it's like a drug. Keeps you from seeing things the way they are. That's a danger when you got people depending on you."

"Georgia, no!"

I turned to face Rick; his arms had flung down listlessly to his sides. I motioned to speak but he cut me off cold, "I can't hear this from you too! You're the intelligent one, the reasoned one, the little girl with the big dreams."

"I didn't mean it like that, Rick." I mirrored his defeated stance.

"Your brother thinks we should call off the search, that my good intentions are making us weaker, that I can't make the hard decisions for the good of the group."

"They're all hard decisions." I uttered meekly. Was Shane legitimately questioning Rick's leadership capabilities or was this just a pathetic power play? I guess with Rick's return, Shane lost the father, husband and group leader role in one fell swoop. He'd been demoted back down to right hand man, husband's friend and father's friend. I shuddered at the thought and prayed it was merely my own mind racing away, masking my own recent traumas with overanalyses of different situations. Silently, I thanked the psychology module I'd undertaken for returning my neurotic thoughts to an acceptable speed.

"But maybe I'm holding on to a way of thinking that doesn't make sense anymore" Rick continued rambling, "He says it's math, basic survival, how much food, how much fuel, how much ammo. There's not much room in that equation for being soft. It's pretty simple when you start thinking of life like that."

I dropped my rifle and grabbed both sides of his face, "HEY! None of us were prepared to be living life this way. If that's what basic survival entails, I want no part of it. You are making the best decisions you can with the information you have and there ain't nothing soft in that!"

Rick grabbed my hands, exhaled and pulled me in to a tight embrace.

"We need you, Rick, don't doubt yourself. I know it's hard when someone's knocking down everything you do; he must've got that from dear old daddy." I picked up my rifle and patted him on the back. "I'm behind you, brother. Sure I'm having a moment to be pissed off at the world, but…we gotta do this. We gotta find her. We need this."

Rick was staring coldly behind me and pointed half-heartedly. I turned around to find a piece of blue cloth hammered to a tree. We'd wandered into T-Dog's grid.

"Nothing?" Dale asked as we handed our guns over.

"No. No sign of her." I answered. "We the last team back?"

"Yeah, well, Daryl's not back just yet."

Had he said anyone else, I'd have been rather worried. No one ever worried or questioned Daryl's ability to take care of himself. I was almost glad; perhaps he'd picked up a decent trail? Rick had tailed off to have a private word with Lori. Hannah pushed past Dale excitedly, was told to mind her manners and then began telling me all about her day. She and Maggie had been using blueberries for counting and playing this numbers game but they didn't get very far before munching most of them. I laughed with the excited little girl and not long after we were joined by Lori, asking us to help make dinner.

Hannah ran ahead, which gave Lori and I a brief moment to catch up whilst we sauntered towards the house.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you about-" she began.

"Oh, we don't have to…ya know, that's really not my business. I'm also a really terrible secret-keeper. I'm actually kind of impressed with myself, thus far-"

"I appreciate you keeping out of it, I really do. It's just that-"

"I'm worried about my brother, Lori. I can't get a word outta him at the best of times, but he's plain old shut me out now. And I got this hunch that you're the only one he'll listen to…so if you could, get him to talk-"

"I will." She rubbed my arm and held the door open into the house. I desperately wanted that to be the end of the conversation, for good.

We joined Patricia, Carol and Beth in the kitchen. Maggie joined us later after a hushed conversation with Hershel. Beth beckoned me over to where we were supposed to be shelling peas. Hannah sat down next to me and the three of us started quietly harmonising an old country song my dad used to play for me. Just as the rest of the women began to join in with us we heard a distinctive yell from Kim outside.

"Walker!" Everyone stopped cold in their tracks.

"I'll be back." I told Lori before looking at Hannah, "You stay here."

I ran outside and over to the RV.

"Just the one?" Rick asked.

"I bet I can nail it from here." Kim replied, lowering the binoculars and I grabbed the baseball bat propped up against the RV.

"No, Kim, put the gun down." Rick ordered.

"You'd best let us handle this." Shane said.

"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick replied.

"What for, man? We got this covered." Shane asked.

Shane, Glenn, Rick, and I ran out into the field towards the lone walker. It was a fair way out, just emerging from the treeline. Once we got closer, my eyes squinted and then widened. My blood ran cold as I took the man in, I grew really scared. It was Daryl. He was covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. My eyes darted all over him.

"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asked panting to catch up, as Rick aimed his gun at him.

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head." Daryl said and I let out a sigh in relief, "You gonna pull the trigger or what?"

Rick lowered the gun and everyone eased up.

"What the hell hap-" I asked, walking towards him when the gun-shot echoed and Daryl flopped to the ground.

"No!" Rick and I yelled simultaneously.

I ran over as fast as my legs could take me and fell down beside him. Daryl slapped a hand in confusion to his head. I tilted his face to the side; the bullet just grazed him, searing a bloody cut. Thanking the big man upstairs, Rick and I got him up and wrapped his arms around our shoulders.

"I was kidding." Daryl said before passing out, leaning his head heavily against my neck. I looked up and saw Kim and Dale running out towards us. Shane took over from me; I evidently couldn't support Daryl's size.

"Oh my god! OH MY GOD! Is he dead?" Kim sobbed hysterically.

"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick answered.

"But look at him." Glenn said, "What the hell happened? He's wearing ears!"

Rick snapped the necklace off of Daryl and tucked it in his shirt, "Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" Dale asked and we turned to see him holding up Sophia's ragged roughed up doll.

Daryl woke up again briefly when we got inside the house, and we brought him into the spare room. Patricia brought me all the supplies I needed to clean him up. Rick brought in a map and laid it on the bed as I finished cleaning up his head wound, it was mostly superficial.

"Is this yours?" I lifted open his bloody shirt to see a gaping wound on his left side. It looked as though he'd been…impaled? An arrow had evidently pierced right through him. "Daryl, what the hell?! Take off your damn shirt."

"Yeah, there's that too." He drawled as he lay back down, shirtless, pressing the cloth to his head wound, as instructed. I pushed another pillow behind his head to make it a little less effort to hold it up and rolled him further to get to work.

"You pulled it through didn't you?" I muttered to myself and passed him a rolled up ball of bandage, "Alright, bite down."

Daryl scoffed and dismissed my advice. I shrugged and began to dab the disinfectant on his wound. He winced at the sting slightly but soldiered on.

"Found it washed up on the creek bed right there." Daryl said, pointing to a spot on Rick's map. "She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half" Rick turned to face Shane, who merely nodded in return.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Daryl winced and flinched around to face me as the first stitch went in. I mouthed a genuine sorry and worked as fast as I could.

"How's he looking?" Hershel asked as he brought Daryl some antibiotics to take.

"He'll be fine." I continued to work. "Head's superficial, looks as though the arrow missed anything important."

"You're not using a running stitch for a wound of that size?" Hershel peered from over my shoulder.

I exhaled, "Knowing the patient, I've forgone speed for decreased risk of rupture. The vertical mattress is interrupted, and though more complex, everts the skin and distributes tension."

Rick and Daryl raised an eyebrow in unison at each other. Hershel made a non-committal noise and passed me the relevant dressing, "I had no idea we'd be going through antibiotics so quickly. Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"Yeah, the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country." Daryl scorned.

"We call that one Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly. I could have told you she'd throw you off if you'd bothered to ask." Hershel replied. "It's a wonder you people have survived this long." And with that scathing retort, Hershel departed as quickly as he'd entered. On paper that sounded about right; I couldn't really argue with the man. After I'd finished his side, I brushed the dust off my knees and sat down on the bed beside him.

Rick and Shane excused themselves from the room, leaving only Daryl and I. Rick pulled the door shut behind him but it didn't latch closed; we could hear every word of their conversation and if I leant to the side a little, I could see the back of Shane's head through the crack in the doorway.

"He'll be alright." Rick pecked Lori on the cheek. She must've been sat outside the room awaiting news on Daryl. Daryl and I looked at each other, knowingly but said nothing. I tilted his head gently to the side and took the cloth out of his hands to observe the mess. It wasn't too pretty but would heal just fine; there was no need for more stitches. My hand fell into my lap and I turned to face the door as I heard Shane utter outside, "I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one. Can't keep going out there, not after this"

"You'd quit now?" Rick spoke in hushed tones, "Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had."

"That is one way to look at it." Shane scoffed. "The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll." Daryl scoffed and attempted to sit up, groaning. I spun around and pushed him back down, urging him to stay horizontal.

"Yeah, I know how you see it." Rick seethed and his steps stormed off.

"I'm not out to be a hard case." Shane sighed. "Just being realistic. He's gotta start making the tough calls. Y'all know I'm right."

"I may not agree with all of his choices, but I respect him. I know yours and mine, and your way isn't harder. It's the easiest thing in the world to cut our losses and to not help. You keep telling yourself you're making the tough calls. You're really just trying to-" Lori was cut off by Shane's dark words.

"The only thing I care about now in this world is you and Carl." Shane uttered "So I apologise if I appear to be insensitive to the needs of others, but you see I'll do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe." My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. Hannah and I were left glaringly out of that equation, on the outskirts with Rick.

"Even abandoning a lost child?" Lori had stepped towards him, I could only just hear out her words. "Really?"

"Yeah" Shane uttered back.

"My son and I are not your problem anymore, or your excuse." She seethed and mirrored her husband's heated departure.

Once the hallway had emptied Daryl scoffed out, "Nice." But upon seeing the fallen look on my face he tried, "He's just frustrated, that's all."

"We all are." I was all I could utter back as I smoothed the dressing down on the side of his head. My mind was spinning, my brother's cold words echoed over, I couldn't help but feel a glaring disconnect between the brother I knew and that man's hollow words. I left Daryl to rest and told him I'd be back in the morning.

I closed the door completely behind me and wandered towards the screen door out the back. Kim was sat on the steps outside with Shane crouched down in front of her, his hands parked on her knees. I exhaled, determined not to overhear anything else, I swung the door open, loudly announcing my presence.

"How's he doing?" Kim sprang up and climbed the steps towards me.

"He'll be fine. What about you?" I replied half-heartedly. Her eyes were huge and her cheeks flushed. Oh, fresh hell, what had I stumbled across?

"I shot Daryl." She shivered.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. We've all wanted to shoot Daryl." I responded with a warm pat on the arm. "And besides, you were just trying to protect the camp." The grin on her face was startling, like a kid picked first in gym class.

I smiled back before brushing past Shane with an obvious glare. He caught up with me soon after, just out of Kim's earshot and uttered, "Do I have to be worried about Dixon?"

I spun on my heel and scoffed, "excuse me?"

"Your reaction to his almost-take down said a lot there." He tucked his thumbs into his waistband in a smarmy manner.

"You're shitting me, right now." I scanned his face relentlessly, waiting for the "JOKES!". He was deadly serious.

"Hell, Georgia, I didn't think redneck was your type, I know the dating pools a little smaller these days but really now? That has to stop, what ever the hell it is. You know what guys like that are like-"

I stifled a chuckle with great difficulty, I couldn't believe what I was hearing, "I heard every word you said in that hallway, you jackass. I'm not seeing how the top-dog protector of our little group is a problem, whilst fucking married women is a-okay."

I brushed past my brother once more, and gladly was not followed.

It wasn't too long until dinner was ready. The ladies had finished their epic feast, it looked incredible. Hannah sat next to me at the table and was excited to sit at the 'big people table' as she put it. Glenn was sitting at a smaller table with Maggie, Beth, and Jimmy. After saying grace, everyone simply ate quietly; the only sound was spoons and forks hitting off plates.

"Does someone know how to play guitar?" Glenn asked, breaking the awkward silence, "I saw there's a cool one out by the porch."

"Otis did." Patricia answered.

"Yes, and he was very good, too." Hershel replied

"I'm sorry; I didn't know it was his." I propped my fork down.

"You play real well. He'd be glad it's not gonna gather dust." Beth smiled before we continued eating again. "Georgia and I were playing a few Eagles numbers. Hannah's got some lungs on her too! We should play for everybody one of these nights."

After we all finished our awkward meal, I excused myself to the kitchen to make up a plate for Daryl. I found Carol had already beaten me to it.

"That man did more for my little girl today than her daddy ever did her whole life." Carol uttered sincerely, her voice cracked a little in the end.

"I know he's not one for words, but I think he needs to hear that." I squeezed her hand and she nodded warmly before heading up the stairs.

I took Hannah by the hand, intent on putting her to bed before coming back to help clean the dishes. Maggie randomly burst passed us and rushed out the front door.


	23. Season 2: Secrets

The next morning, despite Lori's objections, I'd given Carl the all clear to get up and walk around. It was time. I had him help Hannah and Lori feed the chickens as a warm up, he was raring to go the moment his eyes pinged open. Patricia had let me into the house fairly early in the morning. The next stop on my tour was removing T-Dog's stitches and finally bringing clean clothes to Daryl later on. I chapped on the door and awaited his gruff welcome.

"Good morning." I said when I saw him, awake and propped up against the headboard. He was shirtless, his torso littered with scars, some older than others. He was in exceptional shape.

"Mornin'" He grumbled. I realised I'd been staring.

Luckily, there was a bathroom connected to the bedroom, so I just had to help him stand up and he walked just fine into the bathroom. I placed his clothes on the counter and stumbled as I turned into him. He leant against the counter like he was at a local dive bar. The morning sun was dancing through the blinds, scattering itself across his skin. Was I seriously growing jealous of the freakin' sunlight?

"I will just uh, give you some privacy." I muttered before leaving the room. "I'll be out here if you uh, need anything."

"Yer gettin' less subtle with yer attempts to get into my pants." Daryl released a painful grunt and clutched his side, "I got it."

My mouth fell open in horror as Daryl slammed the door in my face. What a jackass.

Hershel caught me on the way out and insisted I take a seat at his breakfast table. I was offered a plate of scrambled eggs on fresh farmhouse bread. It smelled divine. As I tucked into the delicious fresh food, Hershel made his intentions very clear; they were ones of professional admiration,

"I retired many moons ago, Georgia, and truth be told I've been feeling extra-rusty now you're here to show me up."

I propped my cutlery down and expressed that was not my intention.

"Beth has really taken to you, she's come out of her shell more, and Maggie and Patricia are smitten with your little girl. And as for me, I think we have a lot to teach each other."

"Well, thank you, I believe that too." I smiled back, "I'm still so new at this, not just being a surgeon, but being a 'parent', I feel pretty lost about a lot of stuff these days."

"I'd like you to know, there's a place for you here; should you need it." Hershel lowered his voice.

I stared back at the man, mulling over his offer. I'd gathered from snippets of arguments and heated discussions that Hershel was against the group staying here, long-term. But we were settling in. The prospect of leaving this all behind and venturing back out there was…horrendous. How could I expose Hannah to this again?

"You don't get on with your brother." Hershel sat back in his chair, sipping on a cup of tea. "I saw you both arguing yesterday."

"We rarely see eye to eye, yes." I sighed, "But he's still my brother. Rick may as well be too, his family, this group…my family is camped out on your lawn, and should you decide to kick them off, I'll be tagging along with them."

I rose from my seat and thanked the man for his hospitality, adding, "I really do hope that you reconsider. We all have a lot to teach each other."

As I emerged from my delightful breakfast, I was beckoned over to Carol's car. Rick, Shane, and Jimmy were discussing the lay of the land.

"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Daryl found." Rick said "Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream."

"So what, you think she took this road here and she went north?" Shane asked, pointing to the map.

"Yeah…what's up that way?" Rick asked Jimmy.

"It's a housing development that went in maybe ten years ago." The boy answered.

"Take a run up there after gun practice." Rick told Shane. "I'll hold down the fort here, but take back-up. After what went down with Daryl I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs."

"Maybe I'll take Kim out. She's been a mean scout, saw Daryl a mile away." Shane shuffled on his feet. I remained silent on the idea and continued to harbour resentment for Shane's harsh words the other night.

"See how they do on the range, and then take your pick." Rick suggested.

"I wanna go back to the highway, in case she's there today. Don't tell Carol, though, I really don't know how much more she can take." I said before Glenn walked up with peaches and jerky and we took one of each.

"My binoculars" Shane told Glenn.

"Yeah! Yeah!" Glenn replied, setting down the basket and handing Shane the binoculars and skittered away. "Okay, bye." My brothers and I laughed briefly at Glenn's awkwardness.

"I could use you on the range today, George." Shane uttered, "Didn't we just agree on solo trips."

"I won't leave the car. I'll be back before you know it." I dismissed his concern.

"It's out of the question, Georg-" Rick was interrupted by the Greene's arrival. I took the opportunity to slip away from the conversation.

A commotion shortly followed regarding Carl that took the entire camp's attention. I saw my golden opportunity to sneak away back to the highway. What happened to Daryl didn't plague my mind or scare me. Really, I just needed to get away from this farm for an hour or two. After ducking into my tent to retrieve Olivia's handgun and my knife, discretely stuffed in my waistband, I grabbed the keys to my car and headed out towards it.

I pulled the door open and looked back one last time, only to have the door slammed shut before me.

"Nice try, Doc." Daryl drawled.

"You're supposed to be resting, Dixon; doctor's orders." I scowled back at him.

"Can't have you ending up like me, no chance in hell you're getting in this car. Walk away." He straightened up to tower over me in a pathetic attempt to assert his position, but quickly propped his elbow up against the car for support.

"Or what?" I raised an eyebrow.

Daryl smirked and called out, "Hey Sheriff, you got yourself a runaway here!"

I tensed and slapped him on the arm, "You asswipe, you're seriously taddling on me?"

After a heated confrontation with Rick, I managed to subdue his concerns by assuring him I was about to ask Kim to join me on a hunt, and we'd swing by the highway first thing. Rick raised a weary eyebrow at my choice of partner and reluctantly agreed. Kim was borderline ecstatic at the invitation and swiftly accepted.

I pulled out onto a dirt track which led away from the group and veered off. I clutched the steering wheel poignantly. It felt good between my hands. It felt like I was in control, in the smallest sense. Was this stupid? I must have released an audible chuckle to myself as Kim asked if I'd said something. I rolled down the window and stuck my arm out into the breeze. It was beautiful.

"No, I was just thinking…it's stupid but, this feels like I'm in control for the first time in a long time, and I'm just driving a rental car. Pfft, sounds even more stupid out loud." I laughed.

She shook her head, "No, it ain't stupid. You should enjoy it. I had that moment of bliss when I shot down Daryl. And that got ripped away just as swiftly, so savour it."

I looked at the girl quickly and then back on the road. I think it was in that moment I'd begun to sow the seeds of forgiveness. She was after all, only human. Carrying around the weight of her actions, or inactions to be more precise, can't be an easy ride.

I held the overgrowth back for Kim to pass through easier. A feeling of Deja vu rippled through me. I remember holding my breath and exhaling heavily as the battered sign came into view. Our eyes darted across the area, but a few hushed calls of her name revealed what we knew we'd find; nothing. The sun was beating down from high in the sky. The creaking car doors were groaning gently in the mild breeze. The eerie emptiness of the highway was overwhelming. I pulled myself up onto the hood of the car and exhaled, "Can we stay a little longer?"

Kim kicked over an empty can and replied, "Sure."

The stillness in the air felt like a solid pressure against my chest. All the while my senses were on high alert, awaiting desperately that one signal that she was coming back here; the sight of her wading through the tall grass, her small sweet voice calling out to us.

"This place is creepy as hell." Kim shattered the tension, and I instantly forgave her for it.

"You're telling me." I sighed deeply as I slid off the hood of the car.

Kim then threw herself down on top of me before my feet could meet the ground. I went to scream back at her, but she'd covered my mouth. Our bodies smacked and scraped against the tarmac as I pushed her off me violently. She slapped a finger to her mouth and urged me to ssssh! Her crazy actions had a purpose?

"There's someone up there!" she whispered, "Someone alive! A man with a freakin big ass rifle!"

I hugged my stinging arm and whispered back, "Shit. Which direction?"

She pointed over her shoulder, "Far up by that minibus."

I climbed over her, poking my head out the side. It took mere milliseconds to locate the stranger and shuffle back to her uttering, "There's two more."

"What do we do? They ain't lookin' too friendly." Kim groaned.

I looked all around us for an escape route. Do we hide in the cars? Under the cars? No, they were scavenging them…

"Stay low, come on." I tapped her arm to follow me. We crawled over to the edge of the highway and cautiously slid back down the embankment, the exact route we'd tailed Sophia. Once we'd composed ourselves at the bottom of the drop, it was a straight shot through the tall grass to the woods.  
"They'll see us." Kim uttered.

"We better leg it, then." I sprinted ahead.

As we reached the treeline, the silent surroundings echoed out with the sound of gunfire. The bastards had opened fire on us! Luckily, they'd spotted us far too late; the cover of the trees protected us.

"Don't stop!" I called back to Kim who shrieked at the sound of the bullets.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" She screamed back.

A short sprint later we clambered back into the car and forgone seatbelts, sped our way back towards the farm.

"What the hell was that?!" Kim panted from the back seat. I glanced in the rear mirror to see her perched backwards, glaring out the back window. I stared back at the road, in sheer disbelief, my heart still pounding along at a million miles an hour, struggling to regain my breath.

"I shat my pants when they opened fire." I breathed "God damn."

"Yeah, you and me both" She scoffed.

I wiped my eyes and furiously drove us home.

I stumbled out of the car and jogged up towards Rick, who was stalking his way back to camp. I'd only just regained my breath, but as I made a motion to speak, he brushed passed me, "Hey, cowboy! Watch where you're walking" I caressed where we'd collided.

"You knew?" He started. Oh shit. "You knew about that? Didn't think to mention that?"  
"Rick, I-" I reached out to him but he jerked back, obviously worked up.

"Course you'd have your real brother's back." He stormed off towards his tent. My heart sank in my chest as it so often did these days, but this time, it echoed. Rick was relentlessly there for me. He had always had my back; he was the one that pushed me to leave King County when Shane had dragged me to stay. He was my brother and I had let him down, big time. The altercation hung over me for a long moment, overshadowing what we'd just experienced on the highway.


	24. Season 2: Pretty Much Dead Already

Our group assembled one by one around the fire as Carol dished out our dinner. Kim and I retold our story again and again as new members arrived. The group was scared and confused and then doubted our version of events. To accept what had happened was to further shake the foundations of our new found haven.  
"Had they mistaken you for walkers?" Andrea asked.  
"You've had walkers sprinting away from you?" I cried out.  
"They were definitely firing their guns at you?" Lori piped up.  
"They weren't firing party poppers." Kim scowled at her.  
Shane used the opportunity to re-establish his concerns whilst Dale added that the likelihood of them finding us here was small, we were tucked away. After the buzz died down no one was really speaking, merely mulling over in their minds. The silence was then only interrupted by Andrea sharpening her knife and the group's cutlery clanging against plates. I noticed that Glenn looked increasingly nervous. His eyes kept darting between his food, the group and the house. Maggie was loitering just out of the front porch lights, her arms folded furiously against her chest. Glenn rose up and addressed the group,  
"Um, guys. So..." Glenn started, "The barn's full of walkers."  
Everyone stopped suddenly and gave Glenn the attention his statement deserved. My fork flopped out of my hand; a tiny bundle of scrambled eggs littered the ground. His words didn't compute on any level. The group hysteria was building. I was slightly miffed at the reaction Glenn's news was receiving compared to ours, but reasoned that his danger was very much in our backyard as opposed to miles away.  
We all clattered our stuff down and marched over to the barn. I didn't particularly want Hannah to come anywhere near it, but it seemed she would then be alone at the camp, so I told her to keep close to me. Shane peered between the planks, but the all too familiar moans from within told us all we needed to know. He flinched and tensed.  
"You cannot tell me you're all right with this." Shane scorned angrily as he stalked up to Rick.  
"No I'm not." Rick replied, "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."  
"This is our lives!" Shane yelled.  
"Lower your voice." Glenn hissed.  
"We can't just sweep this under the rug." Andrea said.  
"It ain't right. Not remotely." Shane stated, "We either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've just got to go. Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time."  
"We can't go." Rick insisted.  
"Why, Rick, why?" Shane asked.  
"HELLO? Got shot at on the highway?" I answered tersely.  
"Because my daughter is still out there" Carol added.  
"Okay," Shane sighed, "I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility."  
"We are not leaving Sophia behind." I stepped towards my brother, mirroring his confrontational stance.  
"I'm close to findin' this girl. I just found her damn doll two days ago." Daryl stepped in front of me.  
"You found her doll, Daryl. That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane replied flippantly.  
"You don't know what the hell you're talkin' about." Daryl responded, getting increasingly riled up.  
"I'm just saying what needs to be said." Shane continued past Rick's attempts to pacify him, "You get a good lead; it's in the first 48 hours. Let me tell you something else, man. If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your buck knife and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!"  
Daryl lunged at Shane but Rick leapt to restrain him. Lori stopped Shane. I nudged Hannah to go stand back with Carol.  
"Keep your hands off me." Shane's eyes bore through Lori before backing off, jerkily.  
"You can't talk like that! You'd leave Hannah or Carl lost in the damn woods?" I seethed at the riled up man.  
"I wouldn't have lost them in first place!" Shane's eyes seared down to mine. Against my better judgement, I raised an arm to come at Shane to which he tauntingly opened his arms to receive. Rick grabbed my arm in time and yanked me back.  
"That's enough! Now just let me talk to Hershel." Rick bellowed, "Let me figure it out."  
"What are you gonna figure out?!" Shane screamed out. I saw Hannah bury her head into Carol's side.  
"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it. This is his land." Rick answered.  
"Hershel sees those things in there as people, sick people, his wife, his stepson." Dale said.  
"You knew?" Rick asked.  
"Yesterday I talked to Hershel."  
"And you waited a night?" Shane questioned.  
"I thought we could survive one more night. We did. Glenn wanted to be the one to say something." Dale answered.  
"The man is crazy, Rick. If Hershel thinks those things are alive or no!" Shane yelled and the barn doors started moving.

Someone watched the barn at all times, throughout the night and into the daylight, no exceptions. Shane took those shifts more often than anyone else.  
Glenn was due to take over my RV watch duty shift, but was slightly delayed by an encounter with Maggie. He slumped past with egg dripping down him.  
"She's mad?" I asked, stifling a chuckle as he moped himself up.  
"Hell yeah, she's mad at me." He answered.  
"So she cracked an egg on your head?" I questioned.  
He nodded and I laughed.  
"It's not funny." He glared.  
"Oh, it's funny. Give me the shirt, I'll drop it off." I replied.  
We exchanged places and I delivered his sopping shirt to the laundry area. After depositing the eggy number, Daryl stomped towards me.  
"Hey." I greeted.  
Daryl didn't acknowledge my existence, merely stomped into his tent zipping it harshly shut. I looked at the tent in confusion for a moment before tracing back the direction he'd thundered from. In the entrance of the stables I saw Carol crying.  
"What happened?" I asked, running up and hugging her.  
"He's already done so much for my little girl. He's hurt and he's trying to go back out there again." Carol said. "I don't know if she's alive. I just don't want him getting even more hurt."  
"What did he say to you?" I asked her.  
"He didn't-"  
"Don't listen to him. He's just angry at Shane wanting to give up the search." I replied.  
"Do you?" Carol asked.  
I shook my head, "If it was Hannah out there, I would want to know if she was dead or alive. And she ain't even my kid. Same goes for Sophia. She ain't my kid. But we need to know."  
I hugged her again before leaving her alone with thoughts. I walked angrily over to Daryl's tent and stormed inside. Someone needed to set him straight. We were all on edge, sure, but that doesn't excuse this behaviour.  
"Tha hell? What you doin' here?" Daryl growled.  
"Who do you think you are? She lost her daughter and now you're calling her names and being a general jackass?!" I yelled back at him, laying slumped on his bed like a damn moody teenager.  
"Calling her names? Are you a lil' girl?!" He spat back and sat up.  
"Daryl, you're gonna burst your damn stitches okay, you're not going anywhere." My voice quivered, despite my best intentions.  
"I don't give a damn! She thinks we should call off the search!" He yelled back and rose to his feet. I figured he needed all that room to fight square on; he wasn't one for sitting back and articulating his points in descending order. I was never afraid of him, whenever he rose up and got real mad, if anything it only spurred me on to reach his level.  
"That still doesn't give you that right, talking to Carol like that! And maybe you should just deal with the fact that maybe Sophia's-"  
"She's what? Dead? Everyone else seems to think so. Am I the only one who still wants to search for her?" Daryl huffed.  
"Rick and Andrea are going out in a few minutes. We're not giving up. But Daryl, she's twelve. It's been days. Before the outbreak, if she got lost, we'd have a bigger chance. But now, there are walkers in those woods. She can't defend herself. I'm not saying we should stop searching, we should know if she's alive or not." I turned to walk out, "You should apologize to Carol."  
I left and decided my next objective was too important to put off. My own words swam and swished around my stressed mind. Sophia can't defend herself because she hadn't been shown how. I beckoned Carl and Hannah over with the instruction to grab two sticks. In the shade of the RV we practised jamming the sticks into the mud; I wanted them to feel the force they'd need to muster to penetrate a walker. Then I had them take it in turns to trip each other over and mime taking out fallen walkers. Running away first and foremost was always priority one, but should they be caught in a jam, there was another option. Glenn hollered words of encouragement from atop the RV during our lessons, until Shane interrupted us abruptly.

"You see where he went?" Shane fumed.  
"Who?" Glenn questioned.  
"Don't even try to shit me, okay?" Shane threatened.  
"What?" I asked, genuinely not following what he was on about.  
"Dale, Georgia. Did any of you see where Dale went?" Shane enunciated as if we were dim.  
"Yeah," Glenn answered, "He asked me to run and get him some water. He said he'd cover me on watch."  
"And he was gone when you got back, huh?" Shane asked, looking around.  
"Yeah…"  
"You think he's okay?" I questioned.  
"Oh, he's fine." Shane answered.  
"Why'd he bail then?" Glenn asked.  
"So you wouldn't tell me which way he went." Shane spat.  
"I don't get it." Glenn said.  
"No, man, you don't." Shane stated before leaving.  
"Why is there so much drama in this camp?" I muttered under my breath.  
"I ask myself that a lot." Glenn replied.  
Dale and Shane had been butting heads for a while now, I feared it was finally exploding to a head.

About an hour later I saw Shane walking towards the house with the bag of guns over his shoulder. Dale was nowhere in sight. I climbed down from watch, instructing Hannah to stay up there as I ran over to where everyone else was. Shane handed a gun to Daryl as I asked where Dale was.  
"He's on his way." Shane answered, handing me my pistol forcefully. I looked around at our group and back down at the weapon, hesitantly I stuffed it in my waistband.  
"Thought we couldn't carry" T-Dog said and Shane gave him a gun.  
"We can and we have to." Shane replied "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." Shane walked over to Glenn, "How 'bout you, man? You gonna protect yours?"  
Glenn looked at Maggie before taking it and Shane turned to her, "Can you shoot?"  
"Can you stop?" She asked, "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."  
"We have to stay, Shane." Carl said, walking down the stairs.  
"What is this?" Lori asked, coming over to the group.  
"We ain't going anywhere, okay?" Shane told the boy. "Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" Shane asked Carl, holding out a gun. "Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun. And do it."  
Lori stepped in front of her son, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."  
"Oh shit." My words fell flat on the floor.  
We all looked across the field and saw Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy coming out with two walkers on poles like they were rabid dogs on the way to the pound. The others started running towards them and I turned to Hannah who was peering over the edge of the RV. I motioned her to stay down and positioned myself in front of Lori and Carl once I'd reached the commotion. Something told me things were about to go South.  
"They're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They killed our damn nephew, Georgia! They're gonna kill all of us!" Shane's words hit me like a ton of bricks.  
"Shane, shut up!" Rick yelled the words right outta my mouth.  
"Hey, Hershel, man, let me ask you something. Could a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane asked as he shot his gun into the female walker three times in the chest.  
"Stop it!"  
"That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why's it still coming?" Shane questioned before shooting it again, "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?"  
"Shane enough!" Rick yelled.  
"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." Shane replied, walking up to the walker and shooting it in the head.

Hershel dropped the pole and fell to his knees.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!"  
Shane ran towards the door of the barn and Rick looked at Hershel, "Take the snare pole. Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel, listen to me, man, please! Take it now. Hershel! Take it!"  
Shane grabbed a pickaxe and smashed it against the lock. Rick called out pleading with the man, "Please, Shane! Do not do this, brother!"

Shane banged against the door before backing up as the doors burst open. A steady stream of walkers staggered out into the daylight. He started shooting the first ones, and Andrea, Daryl and T-Dog ran up to join him. Shane turned around and shot the walker at the end of Rick's pole.  
"Maggie." Glenn pleaded.  
"It's okay." She told him before Glenn ran up and started shooting too.  
I stayed behind in front of Lori and Carl. There were so many, a never ending stream poured out of the barn. I took tentative steps forward, glancing back between the Greenes and my girl on the RV. This was madness, but we were too far in now, I took out my pistol, prepared for the walkers that had gotten too close to Andrea and T-Dog for my liking, but my bullets weren't required. Eventually all of the walkers had fallen and the guns were lowered. Beth was sobbing and I turned and saw Dale walk up to us. Hershel was on his knees. A mass of bodies covered the ground. Silence rippled throughout the fields. A single, faint growl echoed from inside the barn. I turned back to see a small, dirty, tennis shoe step out, followed by a little girl with short hair and a ripped blue t-shirt.

It was Sophia.

She had a giant bite on her shoulder and she looked towards us, hunger in her milky eyes.  
"Sophia? Sophia!" Carol yelled and ran towards what used to be her little girl.  
Daryl grabbed her and they both fell to the ground. Carol sobbed as the little walker child came towards us, none of us moved. We were all frozen in place. I looked over to Carl crying, watching her, knowing who that walker used to be. I looked around desperately, what do we do? Rick grabbed his gun and walked in front of our group. He aimed his gun at her head and put her down. Tears fell from my eyes for the little girl as she fell to the floor.  
She's in a better place now. She's free.


	25. Season 2: Nebraska

Our eyes couldn't tear away from the dead girl on the ground. We had our answer. All this time, she was here. Daryl helped a wailing Carol stand up, urging her to look away. She pushed off him before running back towards camp, sobbing inconsolably. Hannah descended from the RV, in tears, running down towards us now that the gunshots had ran out and silence blanketed the group. Lori grasped the little girl's arm as she ran by and urged her to stay back with her and Carl. This was no place for children to be, my mind echoed. I watched out of the corner of my eye, everyone uncertainly looking to each other for direction. My eyes fell flat on the little girl, in amongst the family and farm hands and neighbours the Greene's mourned for. Beth broke away from Jimmy before teetering towards one of the walkers.

"Mommy…" She sobbed hysterically, turning a female walker over. It growled before reaching for her, clawing and scathing. Everyone burst into action, running to help. I grabbed Beth and pulled her backwards, the walker clamped down onto Beth's hair and wrist. Everyone was now desperately dragging them apart. Beth was freed from her mom and Glenn and T-Dog kicked at the walker before Andrea ran up with the pickaxe and shoved it straight through its brain. Hershel and Jimmy comforted the shaking blonde and the family started walking away, followed by Shane, Glenn, and Rick.

Daryl walked over to me, dragging me to my feet with one arm.  
"You okay?" He asked me, positioning himself to disrupt my fixation on Sophia.  
I nodded as my head fell, "Go see Carol."

Daryl nodded and hesitantly left, first nudging my shoulder to direct my attention towards Hannah. The little girl ran over from Lori and I scooped her up in my arms, her head tucked into my neck. I was comforting her with words like she's in heaven and that she's in a better place and she didn't feel anything. I didn't believe a word I said, but they flowed on. Shane was animated in his actions and loud in his words up ahead. Dale took Hannah and Carl up to the house, away from the grim scene.

"You want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked as Rick returned to us.

"We need a service. Carol would want that." Andrea added.

"Yeah, we all want that." T-Dog replied.

"Let's…let's dig a grave for Sophia, Annette and Shawn, over by those trees. And we'll need a truck to move the bodies." Lori hesitantly rallied the dejected group. Jimmy motioned to grab the keys but Shane dismissed him and took it upon himself to grab the truck.

"And the others?" Jimmy stuttered, "That's a lot of digging."

"We bury the ones we love and burn the rest." Andrea solemnly stated.

"Let's get to work." I unfolded my arms and followed Andrea's lead. Lori and Rick had a brief altercation, he was clearly devastated and she was doing her best to pacify his distress. He eventually stormed off to be alone with his thoughts, not before shooting me a stern look. He looked, in that moment defeated.

We had needed this win. We had needed it so terribly.

A few hours later and we were ready. Lori and I descended upon the RV with heavy hearts. Lori chapped on the open door but we didn't enter. Carol glanced over her shoulder and we informed her that it was time. She didn't move.

"Come on." Lori sighed.

"Why?" Carol exhaled.

Daryl had been sitting with her all this time. He stated, "'Cause that's your little girl."

"That's not my little girl," Carol spat, "That's some other…thing."

I recoiled a little at her dark words, and she continued on, "My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought…She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

I left Carol behind, not wanting her to see me cry. The weight of my heart was overwhelming. We were mostly silent during the service, everyone standing out there beneath the trees, except Carol. Hannah and Carl stepped forward and put Sophia's doll on her gravestone, a rock.

Desperate to engage my mind in anything else, I helped the group round up the bodies, tossing them into the back of the truck. T-Dog and Andrea were about ready to drive up to the site when Maggie burst out of the house calling out for me.

I burst into the farmhouse, scouring around for her, she called me from upstairs. She was sat over Beth who was lying lifeless on the bed.

Maggie shook, "What's wrong with her?"

"She…She might be in shock." I wandered over to the bed and examined her. I took her pulse, it was rapidly firing away. "Where's Hershel?"

"We can't find him anywhere." Glenn sighed from the other side of the room.

"Splendid. Where does he keep equipment? Maggie?" I raised my voice. Maggie shook into action and retrieved his medical bag; I took Beth's pressure using a rather ancient looking tool. I shined a light into her enlarged pupils and sighed, "Shit, she's cold." I informed the group that had now assembled in the room that finding Hershel was imperative. I elevated Beth's feet with a pillow and wrapped her under a blanket, but without Hershel's keys to his medicine cabinet, I was powerless. And whether he even had what I was looking for was the next question.

The group rummaged through Hershel's room looking for any sign of his whereabouts.  
"Your step-mother's things?" Rick asked, eyeing the boxes strewn across the bed.  
"He was so sure she'd recover." Maggie replied, looking at Shane, "They'd just pick up where they left off."  
Shane picked up a flask that was sitting on the drawers, "Looks like he found an old friend."  
"That belonged to my grandfather, gave it to dad when he died." Maggie said.  
"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker." Rick commented.  
"No, he gave it up on the day I was born." Maggie replied. "He didn't even allow liquor in the house."  
"What's the bar in town?" Rick asked.  
"Hatlin's. He practically lived there in his drinking days." Maggie answered.  
"Betting that's where I'll find him." Rick said.  
"Yeah, I've seen the place. I'll take you." Glenn replied.  
"All right, I'll get the truck." Rick said.  
"N-No." Maggie said, looking at Glenn.  
"It's an easy run." Glenn replied.  
"Like the pharmacy?" She asked.  
"Hey, Maggie?" I brushed her arm and she looked at me, "We'll bring him back."  
Rick nodded at me before I followed him out of the room. Lori and Shane stopped him square in the hallway.

"Rick!" Lori barked, "You want to have a conversation about this before you leave?"

"So you're seriously gonna go after this guy out there with everything that's going on, huh?" Shane scoffed. I shot a dire look his way. "And you too, George? Well, ain't that priceless."

"He's right." Lori exhaled sharply. "This is not the time to head off, not today. You don't always have to-"

"I'm not arguing." Rick cut her off abruptly, "It's the least I can do for Hershel after we-"

"What?" Shane scowled, "After we what? I can't always be watching your back, Georgia, when you're running in head first after him every damn time!"

"Then don't! Doubt you'll lose sleep anyhow, one less mouth to feed?" I barked back and smacked past him, charging out to the car. I flung the passenger door open and sat with my legs hanging out of the car. Rick emerged shortly after, loading his gun outside the driver's door as we waited for Glenn.

Maggie and Glenn exchanged a few words before we diverted our eyes as they kissed.  
"You ready?" Rick asked Glenn as he walked over.  
"Yeah" Glenn answered without eye contact before shuffling into the car.

We were all silent for most of the drive, and I could tell something was up with Glenn.

"Maggie said she loves me." Glenn blurted out from the back seat. Rick and I darted back and then looked at each other and smiled.  
"Mm-hmm" Rick drawled.  
"She doesn't mean it. I mean, she can't. She's upset or confused. She's probably feeling, like-" Glenn started.  
"I think she's smart enough to know what she's feeling." Rick interrupted.  
"No. No." Glenn said and we chuckled, "You know what? She wants to be in love, so she needs something to, like, hold onto."

"Glenn, it's pretty obvious to everyone that Maggie loves you and not just because you're one of the last men standing." Rick laughed.  
"Glenn, you are the definition of overthinking." I said, "You're lovely together. That's pretty rare in these circumstances. So what's the problem?"  
"I didn't say it back." Glenn said.  
"Oh."  
"I've never had a woman say that to me before except my mom, of course, and my sisters. But with Maggie, it's different. We barely know each other. What does she really know about me? Nothing. We're practically strangers. But I didn't know what to do with it. I just stood there like a jerk." Glenn continued.  
"Hey, this is a good thing, something we don't get enough of these days. Enjoy it. And when we get back, return the favour. It's not like she's going anywhere." Rick replied as we descended upon the ghost town.

Rick parked the car outside Hatlin's bar as storm clouds began to gather overhead. It was a fitting omen for the danger ahead. We engaged our guns and started our ascent towards the bar.

"Rick? I know about Lori, being pregnant. I got her those pills." Glenn sighed.

"I figured." Rick uttered back.

"Pregnant?!" I squeaked, "For real, now? A real baby; not like the last imaginary one? Wait…what pills?"

Rick shot a look back that indicated he really didn't want to elaborate right now.

"Hey, I'm sorry I kept it from you." Glenn continued on.

"Don't be. You did what you thought was right. It just so happens, it wasn't." Rick drawled and peered through the front door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked allowing us to simply walk right in. Hershel was sat alone at the bar, his hands cupping a clear glass of whisky.  
"Hershel" Rick announced.  
"Who's with you?" Hershel asked without moving an inch.  
"Glenn and Georgia" He answered.  
"Maggie sent him" Hershel uttered.  
"He volunteered." I insisted. "He's good like that."  
Rick walked up and leant down to the man, "How many have you had?"  
"Not enough." Hershel answered and swigged another mouthful of the amber liquor. Rick glanced back at us with an uncertain look on his face.  
"Let's finish this up back at home." Rick suggested.

"Beth collapsed, Hershel. She's in catatonic shock and I gotta hunch you're going the same way." I informed the man tersely. Perhaps an iota of compassion would have settled well here, but this scene had been played out so many times before in my own humble childhood, truth be told, I was bored of it.  
"Maggie's with her?" Hershel asked.  
"Yeah, but Beth needs you, more specifically your keys." I answered directly and he pressed his keys into my hands. Well, that was one problem sorted.  
"What could I do? She needs her mother or rather to mourn like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now." Hershel replied.  
"You thought that there was a cure. You can't blame yourself for holding out for hope." I attempted to reassure the man, taking a close seat on the edge of a pool table.  
"Hope?" He questioned before raising his head towards Rick, "When I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he would survive."  
"But he did." Rick replied.  
"He did, even though we lost Otis. Your man Shane made it back and we saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me that miracles do exist. Only it was a sham, a bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick, and you people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that." Hershel finished before downing the glass and helping himself to another round. The storm clouds rumbled above us, rain was now pounding against the bar windows.  
Rick walked over to Glenn and me, "So, what do we do? Just wait for him to pass out?"  
"Just go." Hershel bellowed, "Just go!"  
"I promised Maggie I'd bring you home safe." Rick replied.  
"Just like you promised that little girl?" Hershel spat.  
That was too far. Rick took a sharp breath.  
"So what's your plan?" He asked, growing increasingly heated, "Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?"  
Hershel shot to his feet and faced Rick, "Stop telling me how to care for my family, my farm. You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing, give you shelter, and you destroy it all!"  
"The world was already in bad shape when we met." Rick replied.  
"And you take no responsibility! You're supposed to be their leader!"  
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I!?" Rick yelled back.  
"Yes. Yes. Yes, you are." Hershel walked back to the bar and Rick followed him.  
"Now come on. Your girls need you now more than ever." Rick said.  
"I didn't want to believe you. You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick. I chose not to believe that. But when Shane shot Lou in the chest and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I'd been, that Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding a rotten corpse. That's when I knew there was no hope. And when that little girl came out of the barn, the look on your face, I knew you knew it, too. Right? There is no hope. And you know it now, like I do. Don't you? There is no hope for any of us." Hershel responded.  
"Look, I'm done; I'm not doing this anymore, cleaning up after you. You know what the truth is? Nothing has changed. Death is death. It's always been there, whether it's from a heart attack, cancer, or a walker. What's the difference? You didn't think it was hopeless before, did you?" Rick asked. "Now there are people back at home trying to hang on. They need us, even if it's just to give them a reason to go on, even if we don't believe it ourselves. You know what? This isn't about what we believe anymore. It's about them."  
Hershel finished his drink before tipping the glass upside down. He was done. We can finally head back home.  
The door behind us creaked open and we spun to face the dripping men in the doorway. One of them was very over weight, and the other was fit, 30-something.  
"Son of a bitch! They're alive." The skinny one announced.  
Glenn and I moved back towards the bar and stood next to Rick and Hershel.  
"I'm Dave." The skinny one said, while Rick poured them a drink, "That scrawny-looking douche bag there is Tony."  
"Eat me, Dave." Tony replied.  
"Hey, maybe someday I will." Dave took a glass, "We met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit-show that was." I scanned them both up and down, remaining incredibly tense.  
"I'm Glenn. It's nice to meet some new people." Glenn introduced himself.  
"Rick Grimes."  
"What about you, sweetheart, what's your name?" Tony asked, giving me a creepy smile, and I could tell he wasn't looking at my face.  
"Georgia." I answered, taking the shot of whisky from Rick and downing it in one. The fiery liquor warmed its way through my insides.  
"Straight, no water? Girl there ain't nothing hotter. By god's good Georgia, haven't seen anything like you in a long while." Dave winked before looking over at Hershel, who didn't take a glass, "What about you, pal? Have one?"  
"Just quit." Hershel answered.  
"You've got a unique sense of timing, my friend." Dave replied.  
"His name's Hershel. He lost people today, a lot of them." Rick said.  
"I'm truly sorry to hear that." Dave raised his glass, "To better days and new friends. And to our dead, may they be in a better place."  
They all raised their glasses drank in unison. I looked over at Rick, who was looking at Dave's gun. And Dave noticed, too.  
"Not bad, huh?" Dave asked, grabbing his gun, "I got it off a cop."  
"I'm a cop." Rick commented.  
"This one was already dead." Dave replied.  
Rick looked at Tony before back at Dave, "You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia."  
"It feels like we're a long ways from anywhere." Tony replied.  
"Well, what drove you south?" Rick asked.  
"Well, I can tell you it wasn't the weather. I must've dropped thirty pounds in sweat alone down here." Dave answered.  
"I wish." Tony commented.  
"First it was DC. I heard there might be some refugee camp, but the roads were so jammed, we never even got close. We decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, keep hauling ass. Every group we came across had a new rumour about a way out of this thing." Dave said.  
"One guy told us there was the coast guard sitting in the gulf, sending ferries to the islands." Tony said.  
"The latest was a rail yard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country, Kansas, Nebraska." Dave continued.  
"Nebraska?" Glenn questioned.  
"Low population, lots of guns." Tony said.  
"Kinda makes sense."  
"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" Dave asked and chuckled. "A reason they call 'em flyover states. How about you guys?"  
"Fort Benning, eventually" Rick answered.  
"I hate to piss in your cornflakes, officer, but... we ran across a grunt that was stationed at Benning. He said the place was overrun by lamebrains." Dave replied.  
"Wait, Fort Benning is gone? Are you for real?" Glenn asked.  
"Sadly, I am. Oddly, the truth is there is no way out of this mess. Just keep going from one pipe dream to the next, praying one of these mindless freaks doesn't grab a hold of you when you sleep." Dave answered.  
"If you sleep" Tony added.  
"I'd sure sleep a lot easier with someone beside me, gets awful lonesome on the road." Dave winked as I looked away, cringing. "It doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here. You holed up somewhere else?" Dave asked.  
"Not really." Rick answered after a moment.  
"Those your cars out front?"  
"Yeah. Why?" Glenn asked.  
"We're living in ours. Those look kinda empty, clean. Where's all your gear?" Dave questioned.  
"We're with a larger group, out scouting, thought we could use a drink." Hershel answered.  
"A drink? Hershel, I thought you quit. Well, we're thinking off setting up around here. Is it safe?"  
"It can be, although I have killed a couple walkers around here." Glenn answered.  
"Walkers? That what you call them? That's good. I like that. I like that better than lamebrains." Dave replied.  
"More succinct." Tony commented.  
"Okay, Tony went to college." Dave joked.  
"Two years." Tony replied before we were in an awkward silence.  
"So what, you guys set up on the outskirts or something? That new development?" Dave asked.

"Trailer park or something?" Tony questioned, getting up and walking past us, I flinched as I felt his breath on my face, I stepped back. "A farm?"  
"Old McDonald had a farm." Dave sang.  
Tony chuckled and I heard his zipper being pulled down, oh god, is he peeing right here?  
"You got a farm?"  
"E-I-E-I-O." Tony sang as he pissed, "Is it safe?"  
"It's gotta be. You got food?" Dave questioned.  
"You got tail like this one?" Tony asked, turning around and stroking my arm, "Ain't had a piece of ass in weeks."  
I can't imagine why. Glenn stood deliberately between us.  
"Listen, pardon my friend." Dave apologized to me, "City kids. They got no tact. No disrespect. So listen, Glenn-"  
"We've said enough." Rick interrupted.  
"Well, hang on a second. This farm sounds pretty sweet. Don't it sound sweet, Tony?" Dave replied.  
"Yeah, real sweet." Tony answered, leaning against the wall.  
"How about a little southern hospitality? We got some buddies back at camp, been having a real hard time. I don't see why you can't make room for a few more. We can pool our resources, our manpower." Dave continued.  
"Look, I'm sorry. That's not an option." Rick said.  
"Doesn't sound like it'd be a problem" Dave replied.

"I'm sorry. We can't." Hershel responded.  
"We can't take in anymore."  
Dave chuckled, "You guys are something else. I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for, too."  
"We don't know anything about you." Rick replied.  
"No, that's true." Dave agreed, "You don't know anything about us. You don't know what we've had to go through out there, the things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself. Am I right?"  
When none of us answered Dave continued, "'Cause ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same. So come on, let's take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and we'll get to know each other."  
"That's not gonna happen." Rick replied.  
"Rick-"  
"This is bullshit." Tony stated.  
"Calm down." Rick told him.  
"Don't tell me to calm down. Don't ever tell me to calm down. I'll shoot you four assholes in the head and take your damn farm." Tony exclaimed and Rick pulled me over closer to Glenn and stood up.  
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Relax. Take it easy. Nobody's killing anybody." Dave said before climbing over the bar, "Nobody's shooting anybody, right Rick?"  
I saw Tony grab his gun from behind Rick, ready to grab and shoot. Dave took out his gun and set it on the bar, "We're just friends having a drink. That's all. Now, where's the good stuff, huh? Good stuff, good stuff, good stuff. Let's see."  
Dave reached under the counter and Rick put his hand on his gun.  
Dave froze before lifting a bottle, "Hey, look at that. That'll work." He unscrewed the bottle and poured himself a glass, "You gotta understand we can't stay out there. You know what it's like."  
"Yeah, I do. But the farm is too crowded as is. I'm sorry. You'll have to keep looking." Rick replied.  
"Keep looking. Where do you suggest we do that?" Dave asked.  
"I don't know. I hear Nebraska's nice." Rick answered.  
Dave laughed, "Nebraska. This guy."  
Dave reached for his gun, but Rick shot him in the head before turning and shooting Tony in the shoulder and the stomach before the head. I screamed out in shock, it all happened so fast.

"Holy shit." Glenn muttered as Tony's lifeless body slid down the wall.  
"You all right?" Rick asked.  
"Yeah" He answered.  
"Georgia?"  
"I'm fine." I replied. Rick had just killed two men, two living men.  
"Hershel?"  
Hershel nodded in response, "Let's head back."


	26. Season 2: Triggerfinger

We plucked the weaponry off the dead men and started walking towards the door when we heard tyres screeching outside.  
"Car. Car." Rick whispered and we hid. "Get down."  
I hid beside Rick, Glenn was on the other side of the door and Hershel was under the window. We heard the people splash into the puddles outside and call for Dave and Tony, they'd heard the shots. I plucked my gun out of my waistband and held my finger on the trigger, ready to fire. The sudden silence encouraged Glenn and Rick to peek out of the window. Rick and I then crawled over to Glenn and Hershel.  
"Why won't they leave?" Glenn asked.  
"Would you?" I replied.  
"We can't sit here any longer. Let's head out the back and make a run to the car." Rick whispered.  
We stood up, ready to go to the back when we heard gun shots and we went back to our previous positions.  
 _"What happened?"  
"Roamers, I nailed them."  
"They disappeared but their car's still there."  
"I cleared those buildings. You guys get this one?"  
"No."  
"Me neither."  
"We're looking for Dave and Tony and no one checks the damn bar?"_  
They were about to open the door, but Glenn ran over and slammed it shut.  
 _"What?"  
"Someone pushed it shut. There's someone in there."_  
 _"Yo, is someone in there?"_

 _"Yo, if someone's in there, we don't want no trouble. We're just looking for our friends."  
"What do we do?"  
"Bum rush the door?"  
"No, we don't know how many are there. Just relax." _

_"We don't want any trouble. We're just looking for our friends. If something happened, tell us. This place is crawling with corpses. If you can help us not get killed, I'd appreciate it."  
"You're bugging. I'm telling you, nobody's in there."_  
 _"Someone guard the door. If they're in there, they might know where Dave and Tony are."_  
Just as we heard the men's footsteps back away, Rick called out, "They drew on us!"  
Rick, you absolute idiot! I slapped a hand over my eyes. Hershel and Glenn reacted in an equally exasperated manner. We heard them wander back again, "Dave and Tony in there? They alive?"  
"No." Rick answered.  
"They killed Dave and Tony."  
"Come on, man, let's go."  
"No, I'm not leaving, I'm not telling Jane. I'm not gonna go back and tell them that Dave and Tony got shot by some assholes in a bar."  
"Your friend drew on us!" Rick yelled. "They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've lost enough people, done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's not like that now. You know that! So let's just chalk this up to what it was, wrong place, wrong-"

Rick was interrupted by gun shots.  
"Get outta here! Go!" Rick yelled at us as he fired at them.  
Bullets scattered across the ground as we scrambled for cover, Rick called out, "Hey! We all know this is not gonna end well! There's nothing in it for any of us! You guys just back off! No one else gets hurt!"

I burst out of the back door and shot a few rogue walkers. I turned back abruptly to check the guys were following me, only to be smacked across the head by something weighty and incredibly forceful. My guess was a brick. I slumped down like a sack of potatoes, slamming into the ground and stirring in pain. Black spots danced throughout my vision as I desperately clambered to regain control of my spinning mind. Aggressively, I was snatched up off the ground. I heard my name being called out,

"Let her go! LET HER GO!"

My initial captor fell to the ground as gun shots echoed out. My palms stung, I'd dropped onto shattered glass. My hands scrambled across the ground for anything to grip onto as I was roughly dragged up once more and then…tossed into the back of a car. I was just about coming to, breathing out of control. I clutched tightly onto the shard of glass, almost cutting into my skin. Just as the bastard climbed in to the front passenger seat, I felt the car take off. I settled my breathing, inhaled deeply and pushed myself up through the dense haze, plunging the shard into the driver's neck repeatedly. The car swerved all over the slippery road, out of control, until the final plunge caused the driver to slump down onto the accelerator. The passenger smacked against the dashboard and desperately clawed back at me. I fell against the other side of the car and sprung the door open, somehow, pushing myself free from the moving car. My skin scraped across the road, adrenaline pumping. The car careered and skidded off the road before ultimately crashing into a telephone pole. I brushed myself off and cried out as my ankle accepted my weight. I'd landed awkwardly upon it.

I limped forward, pressing my hand to my scraped up arm, running as quickly as my busted ankle would carry me. I skidded in a wet puddle as I bolted down a back alley and smacked straight into Glenn. We both screamed out and composed ourselves. He grabbed me tightly and pulled me down behind a dumpster, "HOLY SHIT! They fucking abducted you?! How are you okay?!" He took the sight of me in.  
"I…I stab-with the glass-and the driver-and I jumped…" I panted through my story, not entirely processing what I'd done.

"Goddammit!" Glenn shook, terrified, "I picked up this!" He shoved Olivia's gun into my shaking hands. We ducked down further at the barrage of gunfire and glass shattering.  
"Glenn! Glenn!" Rick yelled from behind us.  
"I'm all right!" Glenn called out.  
Rick and Hershel sprinted over to us, their eyes widened at the sight of me, "GEORGIA?! Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Can we just…go!"

"I'll hold them here." Rick instructed, "Hershel, you take her with you and cover Glenn the best you can. Glenn, try and make it to the car then pull up back. We'll run for it, get the hell out of here."  
"You want me to cover Glenn?" Hershel asked.  
"You missed all that gun training. It could've come in handy now." Rick replied.  
Hershel checked Dave's clip, "I can shoot. I just don't like to."

"Try? Try and make it?" Glenn's voice cracked.  
"You'll try and succeed." Hershel replied. "I'll cover you."  
"That's a great plan." Glenn said.  
"Stay here." Hershel told me and I nodded, leaning behind the dumpster, trying not to hurt any of my injuries even more. My head was spinning, my ears were ringing out, my leg was screaming in pain. I covered my ears for a moment, attempting to stop the throbbing in my skull. I took my hands away to find blood dripping down and shuddered.

An unknown voice kept wailing over the sounds of gunshots. Tyres were screeching away followed by the moaning of walkers and then ultimately the screams of being eaten alive.  
Lovely.  
Hershel came over and grabbed me, "You gotta be quiet. There's a few walkers, but we can get past them. I nodded and leant against him, making our way towards the car. I was growing increasingly light headed, washing in and out of haziness.  
"The gun fire must've attracted the walkers." Hershel commented as we finally climbed into the car.  
"Where's Rick?" I asked as I slumped down in the back seat.  
"He went across." Glenn answered.  
"Well, hell, we can't go without him." Hershel said.  
Hershel slammed the door behind me. I heard screaming and more gunshots before everything went dark.

 _"Daryl!" I laughed. "Come on, keep up!"  
I looked down and could see my hand entwined with someone else's. Following the arm up to the shoulder, the definition gave it away. He smiled and everything slowed down for moments. Our surroundings were glowing. It was warm. My eyes were adjusting to the light, they couldn't keep away. Were we moving? My long hair was flowing in the gentle breeze. One side was tucked behind my ear. I recognised this feeling; how I had felt that night we were together in the CDC. I noticed I was wearing a long white, flowing dress. My stomach fell flat to the ground. Am I dead?  
I turned square on to place a soft, delicate hand on his cheek. As my thumb gently moved back and forth, I could feel my forehead scrunch in confusion, "Why?"  
He looked over my shoulder, his eyes growing fiercely wide "we have to get these dead bastards off our tail. They already got Merle and there's no way in hell I'm letting them get you!"  
He pulled at my hand, already dragging me the other way, "Now! Let's go!"  
Hearing moans behind me, I told my muddled brain to put one foot in front of the other and get the hell out of there. We ran until we came to this tree, in a grand clearing, the dead circling around us. I'm looking around in circles for a way out. Finding no way out of our literal circle of hell, he tells me, "You've gotta climb that tree, Georgia, and whatever you do, don't get out until they're gone."  
I bring my hands up to my chest ready for a boost, "You're coming too."  
An exasperated growl crawled up his throat, as he cuts me off pressing his lips hard against mine. Everything fell away.  
Just as abruptly, he pulls away to rest his forehead to mine, our eyes still closed.  
"We both knew how this would play out." His voice shook in a manner I'd never heard from him before. As the moans grew louder, my eyes opened. I was sat in the tree, Daryl was small beneath me. I grew more desperate. The dead were closer now, I could see that it wasn't just a few; it was an entire herd. I looked down, sobbing; he was motionless, just staring blankly up at me.  
I let out a gut-wrenching "NOOOO!" as the dead hurled themselves at him, their fingers tearing at his clothes and skin. He never turned his gaze off me. I couldn't move my body. I watched it all. I was watching him die. I thrashed my will about, trying to move._

I jolted awake and must've let out some kind of noise. I took a moment to adjust to my surroundings. It was just a nightmare.

Glenn was pressing a ragged shirt against my arm, Rick was driving, and Hershel was in the bed of the truck, tending to a random teenager's horrific leg wound.

"What the hell?" I exhaled at Glenn's sullen face as we skidded into the farm's driveway. Lori and Carl ran up to embrace Rick. Maggie forwent her father to embrace Glenn who awkwardly shirked her off a little. I slammed the door shut behind me, pressing the shirt to my grazed arm.

"Patricia! Prepare the shed for surgery?" Hershel announced.

Daryl stomped over towards me, "surgery?!"

I shook off his concerns and winced as I put weight on my ankle, "It ain't for me."

"No, but I'll see you right after." Hershel scolded and stormed up to the house. "Get inside!"

"What happened?" Daryl barked in my face, extremely pissed off. I exhaled and a heartbeat later he scooped me up and carried me towards the house.  
"I can walk, you asswipe!"

"Shut up." He drawled.

"Who the hell is that?!" T-Dog pointed at the stranger passed out in the car.

"That's Randall." Glenn stated matter-of-factly.

Daryl scoffed and carried me over the threshold like newlyweds stepping into their new house. I rolled my eyes at my own thoughts and blamed the concussion.

He gently laid me down onto the sofa and knelt down to my level, "What do you need?"

I raised my gaze up his body, as I pushed down the thoughts I so desperately wanted to release in that moment, "Disinfectant, wraps." I uttered.

He took great care to gently caress the wounds and dress them. As he taped down the final piece he took my face in his hands and looked me directly in the eye, "What happened?" His voice was soft, its usual gruffness gone.

"I killed someone." My hands shook as my voice cracked, he grabbed them and held on, "Maybe two people, actually…"

He didn't say a word; he merely gazed back with his piercing blue eyes.

"Rick shot the bar guys, they pulled on him, they weren't good people…they had buddies that came and shot at us, I got smashed over the head, they were trying to take me…"

Daryl shot to his feet and paced the room, anger bubbling up visibly.

"I had glass in my hands…" I continued on, piecing the story together as it flooded back into my own mind, "I stabbed the driver and somehow jumped from the car?"

"WHY THE HELL IS HE HERE?" Daryl shouted back in my face. "Why the hell is a punk from the gang of assholes that tried to kill y'all and kidnap you, sat in our backyard?!"

"I don't know! I only just woke up here! Excuse my lack of consciousness!" I stood up to face him, faltered and he grabbed my arm, steadying me. I snatched my arm out of his grasp. "What do you even care?! Ain't you busy sulking on the edge of the fields, feeling sorry for yourself?!"

"Girl don't even know what yer talkin' 'bout!" He spat back. "Running head first after yer beloved Sheriff, getting your ass handed to ya every time!"

"That's mighty rich," I grasped his shirt up, exposing his own wounds. He snatched it out of my hands and brushed it back down.

"Well there's people here who need you in case that slipped your brilliant mind!"

"And they need you! When you're not being such an obnoxious brooding asshole!" I pushed against his chest, he didn't stagger even slightly. "Whatcha looking at me like that for?"

Exactly one heartbeat later, he grabbed me powerfully and pushed me against the wall, kissing me passionately. My head was swimming in a potent mix of lust and mild concussion. He lifted me up with one arm, his other gripping the hair at the nape of my neck. Somewhere in the heat of the moment, the finale of my dream shattered into my mind. I jarred and pushed him off; he dropped me down to the ground, "No!" Tears were lining my eyes, I felt like such a fool. Our eyes bore into each other, the air between us on fire. I wiped the streams away and limped through to the dining room where everyone had assembled.

"We couldn't just leave him behind. He would've bled out, if he lived that long." Rick drawled. He had his foot up on a chair, propped at the head of the table.

"It's gotten bad in town." Glenn added.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked.

"I repaired his calf muscle as best I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. I don't know if you even want to go in again." Hershel looked over at me as I limped over and carried on when I didn't reply. "He won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road, send him on his way." Rick declared as Daryl entered the room after me, his poker face didn't reveal any of what we'd just done.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Andrea asked.  
"He'll have a fighting chance." Rick replied.  
"His buddies damn near kill y'all, kidnap my sister, throw her from a car and we're just gonna let him go?" Shane asked,

"Technically, I jumped." I cleared my throat awkwardly.

Shane shot a glare, "He knows where we are."  
"He was blindfolded the whole way here. He's not a threat." Rick responded.  
"Not a threat." Shane scoffed, "How many of them were there? You killed three of their men, and took one of them hostage. But they just ain't gonna come looking?"  
"They left them for dead. No one is looking." Rick said.  
"We should still post a guard." T-Dog replied.  
"He's out cold right now, will be for hours." Hershel said.  
"You know what? I'm gonna go get him some flowers and candy. Look at this folks, we back in fantasyland." Shane said as he was about to leave the room.  
"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet. Let me make this perfectly clear, once and for all. This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone. Rick talked me out of it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. So do us both a favour, keep your mouth shut." Hershel said.  
I smirked. Shane just got his ass handed to him.  
"Look, we're not gonna do anything about it today; let's just cool off." Rick told Hershel.

I made my way through the group up passed Rick. He gripped my arm and led me aside out of the other's earshot, "Are you alright? I haven't had a moment to breathe let alone ask."

"I uh, I don't know." I uttered, uncertainly. That was the honest answer. Rick and I had both killed real live human people.

"I'm sorry, Peach." He pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered, "We didn't have a choice. Neither of us had a choice."


	27. Season 2: 18 Miles Out

The group argued back and forth for a week. I focussed on keeping busy and keeping out of the discussion. Shane point blank refused to let me inspect the prisoner's leg. Truth be told, I didn't put up a fight, I wanted nothing to do with him. Shane and Rick were currently driving hell knows where with the guy, intent on sending him on his merry way.

I could hear the Greene sisters' heated voices from all the way across the yard. I pushed open the back door and poked my head in. Lori and Andrea were parked in the kitchen, looking incredibly tense.

"The hell's happening?" I asked the women as I stepped further into the house, debating whether to intervene. "Can hear their belly-aching a mile away"

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea ignored my question.

"He doesn't want to find out yet." Lori munched on some cucumber.

"Ladies…context?" I asked again.

"It's a family affair. We'll let them work it out." Lori dismissed Andrea's concerns.

"That's working it out?" Andrea scoffed at the screaming match upstairs; they were really going for it.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry." Lori slid from the counter top.

"This could've been handled better." Andrea sighed.

"How so?" Lori laughed at her words.

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away." Andrea replied succinctly.

"She had a knife?" I raised my voice which finally grasped their attention, "The girl that just recovered from trauma-induced catatonic shock had a knife?"

"Excuse me?" Lori returned her attention to Andrea.

"You were wrong, like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision." Andrea stated matter-of-factly, "She has to choose to live on her own. She has to find her own reasons."

"Want me to tie a noose for her?" Lori sneered.

"If she's serious, she'll figure out a way." Andrea stated.

"Doesn't mean I can't stop her or let her know that I care." Lori scoffed.

"That has nothing to do with it Lori, she only has so many choices in front of her, and she believes the best one is suicide." Andrea wasn't getting as riled up as Lori at this point; she was delivering her words clearly.

"Did she actually hurt herself? Do I need to be up there?" I gestured in the way of their death glares.

"No. I took the knife away in time." Lori exhaled sharply, "And that is not an option."

"Of course it is." Andrea implored, "She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She needs to be heard, to work through these thoughts, not to have her suicide facilitated." I chipped in, neither woman was 100% in the wrong here, they were both coming from a place of concern, just getting their wires crossed in the process.

"She needs a loaded gun, right?" Lori snapped, "You'll understand if I don't send you in there."

"I came through it." Andrea raised a hand to her heart.

"And became such a productive member of the group" Lori scoffed and started furiously tidying the kitchen. It was particularly messy to begin with; she was just avoiding the woman's glares as she dished out her digs.

"Hey, now!" I raised my voice for the second time but continued to go unnoticed. That was the running theme of the encounter; I was pretty much talking to myself.

"Let Maggie handle this her way." Lori demanded.

"Screaming the house down doesn't appear to be all that effective." I pointed at the ceiling which had tiny dust particles dancing off it as items were clearly being thrown across the room.

"I contribute." Andrea seethed, "I help keep this place safe."

"The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help." Lori threw her tea towel down, rather overdramatically.

"Whoa, did I miss the jump back to the 50s?" I genuinely laughed at her remark and took a step back. This was getting a little ridiculous now.

"I'm sorry. What would you have me do?" Andrea pushed herself off the counter onto firm footing, waving her arms emphatically, "Demote Georgia to Wet Nurse, only men can be Doctors?"

"You're being ridiculous. There's plenty of work to go around." Lori shook her head in disgust. "You're twisting my words to get out of it."

"Are you serious? Everything falls apart; you're in my face over skipping laundry?" Andrea folded her arms in disbelief.

"It puts a burden on the rest of us, on me, Carol, Kim and Maggie. Cooking and cleaning and caring for Beth. And you-you don't care about anyone but yourself. You sit up on that RV working on your tan with a shotgun in your lap." Lori snapped back

"No, I am on watch against walkers." Andrea taunted, "That is what matters, not fresh mint leaves in the lemonade!"

"Guys, this is getting ridiculous." I apparently uttered to myself.

"We are providing stability. We are trying to create a life worth living." Lori hissed.

"Are you kidding me?" Andrea chortled.

"Look, I went after Rick. I took down two walkers. Don't act like you're the only one who can take care of herself." Lori implored.

"After crashing Maggie's car, ever apologise for that?" Andrea taunted.

"Crashing her-you're insane!" Lori scoffed and brushed passed her.

"No, you are and you're the one that's self-centred, the way you take it all for granted."

"My husband is out there for the 100th time! My son was shot! Don't you dare tell me that I take this for granted!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Andrea cried out, "Your husband came back from the dead, your son too. And now you've got a baby on the way. The rest of us have piled up our losses, me, Georgia, Carol, Beth, but you just keep on keeping on."

"We have all suffered." Lori sheepishly uttered.

"Keep on playing house, acting like the queen bee, laying down rules for everybody but yourself. You've done nothing to earn your place at the top, saved no lives, broke no bones, jumped outta no cars-"

"Oh I really think that's-that's not one I'm proud of-" I interjected awkwardly.

"You know what? Go ahead." Andrea glared down at Lori, "Go in there and tell that little girl that everything's gonna be okay, just like it is for you. She'll get a husband, a son, baby…boyfriend."

Lori's face rose hatefully to meet Andrea's.

"She just has to look on the bright side." Andrea sneered and swanned out of the room.

"Thanks for having my back there." Lori scoffed and brushed past me.

"Lori!"

She spun to face me.

"This has to stop." I implored, "I don't care what happened. I care about now. We can't start snapping away at each other, alright? Regardless of what happened, Rick is my brother. You are my sister. That baby is my family and I want to help you."

She stormed back and hugged me tightly, "God, I didn't mean any of that."

"GEORGIA?!" Maggie's voice bellowed from the house. My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach as I heard slamming against a door. I pushed past Carol and clambered up the stairs. Beth had smashed the bathroom mirror and sliced one of her wrists open with a shard. She was a shaking, sobbing mess; she kept mumbling, "I'm sorry!" to Maggie. Luckily, she hadn't gone too deep and I was able to patch her up fine enough. Hershel burst into the room and took over bandaging. I decided to leave them alone; it was a moment that the father and daughter needed to have. A real conversation about what they'd been through.


	28. Season 2: Judge, Jury, Executioner

I took a seat beside the fire as Carol passed me a mug of tea. I thanked her heartily and took a swig. It had become a somewhat ritual for us in the morning, to take it in turns to greet each other with a hot beverage. Hannah sat next to me on the ground, picking at a plate of strawberries with Carl.

Carol cleared her throat and spoke in a hushed tone so that only I could hear, "You know, I was thinking, when you're up to it, perhaps you could go over a few first aid style tricks with me? Only if you have the time to, of course"

I smiled warmly back at her, "Yeah, that's a good idea! As soon as all this ugliness dissipates, I'd love to." It would certainly make sense, considering the trouble this group continually stumbles upon. I can't be everywhere, all the time. And gods forbid if something happened to me…  
"So what are you gonna do?" Lori asked Rick, breaking the tension of the camp, "We'd all feel better if we knew the plan."

Rick and Shane hadn't returned empty-handed. Randall was tied up in the shed, once again. The two men looked a little worse for wear, although they didn't care to share their troubles on the road; it was more than evident what had gone down between them.  
"Is there a plan?" Andrea shoved her hands in her pockets.  
"We gonna keep him here?" Glenn questioned.  
"We'll know soon enough." Rick answered, looking behind everyone.  
Daryl was walking over with his crossbow strapped to his back and his knuckles splattered with blood. He looked at me, dipping his head slightly before reporting to Rick, "Boy there's got a gang, thirty men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna wish they were."  
"What did you do?" Carol asked, looking at his drenched knuckles.  
"Had a little chat" Daryl answered sourly.  
"No one goes near this guy." Rick ordered.  
"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked.  
"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat." Rick answered.  
"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale questioned.  
"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick left and Dale followed him.  
"Daryl?" I propped my mug down and chased after him, "Hey, wait up!"

I had to run in front of him as he showed no sign of slowing down.

"Can't you hold up a second?"

"I'd do it again and again to keep those bastards away from you." He growled.

"Let me take a look at them." I took his hand in mine but he snatched it out.

"Had a lot worse" He drawled and continued on his way, leaving me standing there alone.

The sun was beginning to set over the farmland. I'd sent Hannah up to Beth's room to keep her company. After showing Carol a few of the best methods for bandaging wounds, it was solely a case of wasting time until the sun had dipped low enough in the sky. It felt like I was waiting outside a principal's office, I couldn't quell the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Mid-absent-mindedly examining my own bandaged palm, Glenn tapped on the shutter door to beckon me in. Hershel patted the space on the sofa and I took my seat next to him. Everyone else had piled into the lounge and taken their space. I felt exhausted and opted to take a backseat approach to this debate.

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn questioned.  
"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea asked.  
"How about majority rules?" Lori offered.  
"Well, let's just see where everybody stands then we can talk through the options." Rick said.  
"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward." Shane said.  
"Killing him, right?" Dale asked, "I mean, why bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing."  
"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick replied.

"Well, I can tell you, it's a small group; maybe just me and Glenn." Dale stated and looked taken aback when Glenn didn't immediately jump to his aid.

"Look, I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-" Glenn started.

"They got you scared!" Dale cried out.

"He's not one of us." Glenn responded. "And we've lost too many people already."

Dale looked at Maggie, "How about you? Do you agree with this?"

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie asked.

"Just another mouth to feed" Daryl said.

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel commented.

"We could ration better." Lori suggested.

"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." Dale said.

"Put him to work?" Glenn asked.

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick stated.

"We could put an escort on him." Maggie offered.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asked.

"I will." Dale said.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick said.

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori added.

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labour." Andrea commented.

"Look, say we let him join us, right?" Shane began, "Maybe he's helpful, and maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime he may never even attempt?" Dale questioned. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization."

"Oh my god" Shane sighed.

"Could you drive him further out?" Hershel asked. "Leave him like you planned?"

"You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. You could get lost." Lori pointed out.

"Or get ambushed." Daryl added.

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn said.

"If you go through with it, how would you do it?" Patricia asked. "Would he suffer?"

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck." Shane said.

"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick replied.

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-Dog asked.

"Hold on, hold on." Dale interrupted, "You're talking about this like it's already decided."

"You've been talkin' all day, goin' around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asked.

"This is a young man's life and it is worth more than a five minute conversation!" Dale yelled, "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane said.

"No, Dale is right." Rick replied, "We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea implored.

"Let Rick finish." Lori cut her off bitterly.

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could." Andrea said.

"So let's work on it!" Dale yelled.

"We are." Rick replied.

"Stop it. Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide, either of you, both of you, but leave me out." Carol said.

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there's no difference." Dale said.

"All right, that's enough. Anybody that wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Rick replied.

Rick looked around at all of us, and no one stepped up. I struggled to evoke any sense of direction here. What if they had brought me back to their camp? Would I still be breathing right now? Would I wish I wasn't? This world was rough and perhaps this kid had gotten wrapped up with a bad crowd. I didn't turn away junkies from the hospital, I was obliged to treat them and never question it. Do these rules even have a place here?

"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale said.

"That was before the living tried to kill us." Rick responded.

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's... harsh. It's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't want to live in and I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?" Dale asked.

"He's right." Andrea said after a painful moment.

"We should try to find another way." I cleared my throat and the entire room turned to face me.

Shane scoffed and stepped back, "After what they did to you?"

I rose to my feet steadily and faced my brother coldly, "They are no longer with us."

A cool spark flickered in my brother's eyes; the corner of his mouth briefly peaked up.

"Anybody else?" Rick asked.

When no one spoke up Rick looked at Dale.

"Are y'all gonna watch, too?" Dale asked, tears in his eyes, "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it."

Dale walked past us but stopped first to pat Daryl's shoulder and utter, "This group is broken."

That night we all gathered silently by the fire, waiting for Rick, Shane, and Daryl to come back. Dale's words stuck with me as I stared into the fire, and judging by the fallen faces of my friends, I wasn't the only one struggling to swallow them. There were too many variables to reach a decision here, were the highway shooters from Randall's group? I could never live with myself if something happened to Hannah as I result of freeing him. We've been knocked down too many times for doing the right thing. But…murder… One thing was certain, the only thing that was certain in my mind; there is no coming back from this. Once that gunshot rings out over this campsite, we are forever changed. We braced ourselves, holding our collective breath in silence for what felt like an eternity, but alas there was no gun shot. Rick was walking Carl back to the camp alone, clearly something was up.

"We're keeping him in custody for now." Rick announced to the group.

"I'm gonna find Dale." Andrea beamed before running off to deliver the good news. Was I happy? I believe I was…indifferent, in that moment. I assumed that Daryl had received the henchmen task of chucking the kid back in jail. I rose up from my camp chair and headed towards my tent when I heard the scream. I grabbed my knife from my waistband, spun on my heel, and started running, well more like glorified limping, towards the scream.

"Dale!" Andrea yelled out.  
"Help! Over here!" I heard Daryl yell next.  
I skidded to a stop as my eyes fell upon Dale. His stomach was ripped open and his intestines were laid out around him. I couldn't move.  
"Georgia?! What the hell are you doing? Get Hershel!" Rick yelled, "He needs blood. We got to operate now."

I fell to my knees at his side, with Andrea on his other and held his hand. His eyes were huge, he was in shock, he knew what was happening, and his mouth trembled in fear.

"Why aren't you helping him?" Andrea screamed in my face and he looked at us with incredible terror in his eyes.

"I. Can't." I managed to choke out.

"What happened?" Hershel asked, running over.

"What can we do?" Rick asked. "Can we move him?"

"He won't make the trip." Hershel answered solemnly, echoing my stance.

"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house." Rick started.

"Rick." I stopped him and shook my head.

"No!" he cried back.

I let out a sob and pulled Dales hand to my cheek. His eyes were falling a little, he still shivered on. There was nothing we could do for him. I looked up at Rick, standing over me.

"He's suffering." I cried out, "Do something!"

Rick pointed his gun at Dale's head, but he wasn't pulling the trigger.

I watched as Daryl took the gun from Rick's trembling hands and exhaled deeply, "Sorry, brother."


	29. Season 2: Better Angels

Daryl had dragged me up to my feet and physically pulled me away from there. I clutched onto his shirt, afraid that should I let go, I'd smash into a million pieces. My heart thudded along with its new aching addition. I felt weak. Daryl kissed the top of my head and we stumbled on without another word.

 _"Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought. How he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honour him is to un-break it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety... our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honour Dale."_

After Rick's speech at Dale's funeral, T-Dog, Shane, Andrea, and Daryl took their anger out on the walkers around the land under the pretence of securing the area. Rick's words shook me, the very core of our group was shaken and off-balance with the glaring absence of Dale. Upon their return, the group began moving themselves into the house under the insistence of Hershel.

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road." Rick instructed, "We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Hershel dragged some hefty crates inside his house.

"What about patrols?" Andrea inquired.

"Let's get this area locked down first." Rick decided, "After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

"We're back to that now?" Shane questioned the man.

"It was the right plan first time around." Rick stated, "Poor execution."

"That's a slight understatement." Shane laughed.

"You don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on." Rick demanded sternly.

"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner-that's two separate things, right?" Shane lowered his voice, "You wanna take Daryl as your wingman be my guest."

"Thank you." Rick sarcastically added.

"You got it." Shane seethed as he stormed off. I watched my brother storm off, stifling down his blind rage. He was a desperately angry man; I feared he'd never shake this off.

"We worked it out. Last time Shane and I tried this. We came to an understanding." Rick drawled quietly to me, "Are you alright, George?"

I uttered back, "Yeah. I'm the least of your worries right now."

"Naw" Rick scoffed, "You're up there."

I raised an eyebrow to the man but just as I was about to clarify what he meant by that, Rick turned to face Hershel, loaded us both up and head back up to the house.

"I see why you're not taking Shane with you." Hershel uttered to Rick, intentionally loud enough that I may hear too, "Just know I've got no more patience where he's concerned."

"He's turning over a new leaf." Rick replied, "Georgia, when I'm out with Daryl, help Hershel keep an eye on things around here. Shane's got a way of letting things get out of hand, especially when he's all torqued up."

"I think we're all a bit torqued up at this point." I uttered back.

"If you're staying here permanently, he's got to understand that it's what Rick and I say, not whatever he wants." Hershel laid down the law.

"C'mon, Georgia. You of all people know he's not a bad guy, he's just his own worst enemy." Rick pleaded.

"You want me to babysit my brother?" I raised an eyebrow to the men.

"I need to make sure every time I leave the farm all hell doesn't break loose." Rick insisted.

"Then maybe you should stop leaving." I sighed.

"Will you keep an eye on things?" Rick called after me.

"Of course." I called back. Exactly what Rick thought I could do to keep him in line was anyone's guess. My mind was preoccupied solely with the horrifying events of last night, I didn't intend to respond with quite as much sass. I was struggling to shake off Dale's death and spring back to business as usual.

Hershel allocated his step-son's room to Hannah and me. The little girl helped me drag our bags up to the room littered with country band posters and beautifully scribed bible quotes. I sat down on the bed briefly to take a breath, wincing slightly.  
I grabbed Hannah's hand and offered a comforting smile, "Can you go see if Lori needs any help?"  
Hannah bounced through the house hunting her down. Honestly, I wanted a moment to myself, in this teenager's old room, to reflect. This was all so unfair. Above anything, I wished Dale was here with us, to see the ending.  
I felt the urge to clear the air with Daryl, regarding my post-make-out freak-out, before he set off with Rick. It was overwhelmingly apparent just how precious our time was, and leaving words unsaid was no longer an option.

I approached Daryl just as T-Dog handed him a pistol, he joked, "Only got so many arrows."  
"Is that Dale's gun?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah" T-Dog answered quietly.  
"Wish I knew where the hell mine was." Daryl replied as he put the gun in his waistband.  
"Ready?" Rick asked, walking up behind us.  
"Yeah" Daryl drawled.  
"I'll get the package." T-Dog said.  
"Thanks." Rick exhaled and turned to face me, "'member what I said."

I nodded half-heartedly and he sauntered off to leave Daryl and I some privacy.

Daryl turned to me, "He's got a lot on his shoulders."

"He's got you now, his right hand man." I uttered.

"He shouldn't carry it alone." Daryl perched himself on his motorcycle and turned to face me with a sullen look, "Just relax, okay? You need to heal. I know you ain't a fan of being told what to do, or whatever."  
I laughed and caressed my bandaged hand, "I think I need to."  
"That you saying I'm right?" he raised an eyebrow with a smirk.  
"Don't push it." I stepped towards the man and his hands found their way to my hips, "I uh, I had this dream. You were in it."

"Oh really now?" Daryl's hands wandered further up my back.

"Not like that." My hands wandered over his shoulders, mimicking his rhythm, "I went into protection mode, I guess, I didn't mean to shout in your face."  
"Hey," Daryl's hand caressed my cheek and brought my eyes to meet his as he rose off his bike to close the gap between us, "This'll all be over when you wake up." Oh, how I wish this moment were the end of this particular chapter. I'd forgotten that Rick was somewhere on the side-lines, I'd even forgotten the reason we were all so tense in the first place. It was a beautiful reprieve, leaning into this man.

"Rick!" T-Dog yelled as he ran over to us all, "Randall's gone."  
Oh yeah, that's why. Daryl and I pushed apart and joined the mass sprint towards the shed. Worst case scenario? This was pretty much it. We all clambered and dispersed in and around the shed, desperately assessing the situation.  
"What's wrong?" Lori asked as the rest of the group ran over, drawn over to the commotion.  
"Randall's missing." Rick answered tersely.  
"Missing? How?" Lori questioned.  
"How long's he been gone?" Hershel asked.  
"It's hard to say." Rick answered. "The cuffs are still hooked. He must've slipped 'em."  
"Is that possible?" Carol asked.  
"It is if you've got nothing to lose." I answered darkly.  
"The door was secured from the outside." Hershel's comment sunk to the pit of my stomach. None of it was adding up to the scenario I wanted to believe so desperately, I wanted to believe the lesser of the two evils. Randall, chained to the wall, had slipped through a padlocked door. Pretty damn impressive, quite the magic trick.  
"Rick! Rick!" We all turned to see Shane stalk out from the woods with blood splattered down his face. I was solely fixated on his ferocious eyes.  
"What happened?" Lori cried out to him.  
"He's armed!" Shane yelled, shaking with rage. "He's got my gun!"  
My stomach flipped at his words. How exactly had that played out, Sergeant Steroids?  
"Are you okay?" Carl whimpered at the sight of him. His busted nose looking rather graphic.  
"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." Shane barked.  
"Alright, Georgia, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." Rick ordered.  
Daryl nodded at my pained face before running over to join Rick's crusade.  
"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it?" Carol begged the man.  
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun." Rick seethed.  
"Don't go out there. Y'all know what can happen." Carol pleaded.  
"Get everybody back in the house." Rick commanded as the four of them stormed towards the woods, "Lock all the doors and stay put!"  
I grasped onto Hannah tightly and kept her close as we all ran back into the house. I couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen, something really awful. My stomach churned over all the information, but I couldn't dispel the fact that my gut was usually right these days. As darkness descended over the farm, my heart only grew heavier and heavier.


	30. Season 2 Finale: Beside the Dying Fire

A single shot echoed throughout the farmhouse. Everyone shot to their feet and peered out into the darkness. I paced around the living room, shaking, predominantly from worry and just an extra sprinkling of anger. Last time a single gunshot echoed throughout these fields, Carl almost died.  
"I'm going after them." I eventually threw my hands down in defeat.

"Don't. They could be anywhere." Lori rose to her feet. "And if Randall comes back, we're gonna need you here."  
On cue, the front door slammed open with only Daryl and Glenn emerging. Daryl took a rapid survey of the room and asked, "Rick and Shane ain't back?"  
"No." Lori answered with wide eyes.  
"We heard a shot." Daryl growled.  
"Maybe they found Randall." Lori replied.  
"We found him." Daryl responded tersely.  
"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked.  
"He's a walker."  
"Did you find the walker that bit him?" I asked.  
"No, weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn answered.  
"His neck was broke." Daryl added. I think, upon reflection, this was the moment that sealed it for me. I'd held out hope, despite everything before me. It all fell into place, the undeniable picture of how far my brother had fallen from his former self.  
"So he fought back." Patricia said.  
"The thing is Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together." Daryl said. My heart began to race with the picture Daryl's words were painting. Shane and Randall…were together. The explanation was right in front of us, but still the room refused to grasp on to it. Dale was the only one brave enough to.  
"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on Earth is going on?" Lori asked.  
"You got it." Daryl replied.

Out of everyone there, I felt like I needed answers the most. I followed the men outside, intent on backing them up and gasped at the sight. There were at least a few hundred walkers breaking from the treelines in the distance, heading right for us.  
"Georgia?" Hannah whispered as she hugged my legs.  
"Patricia, kill the lights." Hershel ordered.

"We cannot catch a break…" I muttered under my breath.  
"I'll get the guns." Andrea said.  
"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?" Glenn desperately implored.  
"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs that I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down." Daryl answered.  
I mirrored his sentiments as my eyes struggled to take in the sheer number of them. There was no way in hell we were holding down the fort. There was just…so many. The farm was clearly done for.

"Carl's gone." Lori cried, bursting outside.

"What?" my voice cracked.

"He was upstairs. I can't find him anymore." She frantically wailed.

"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn offered.

"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy." Lori shrieked.

"We're not." Carol replied. "We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him."

Andrea slammed the bag of guns down on the porch and ripped it open, shoving the larger weapons into people's hands. She handed me a shotgun and I turned to Hannah,

"You don't leave my side." I instructed, plainly.

"You grow up country you pick up a thing or two." Maggie quipped at Glenn.

"I got the number-it's no use." Daryl urged.

"You can go if you want." Hershel barked.

"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl enquired.

"We have guns. We have cars." Hershel stated matter-of-factly.

"Kill as many as we can, and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm." Andrea dished out secondary smaller pistols and handguns.

"This is my farm. I'll die here." Hershel concluded and stormed off ahead.

"Alright" Daryl nodded and hopped over the railing, "It's as good a night as any."

"Hold down the fort, Georgia." Hershel barked back at me. I motioned to speak but it was too late, it was go time.

Jimmy drove out in the RV, T-Dog and Andrea took the blue truck, Glenn and Maggie took the Hyundai, and Daryl rode out on his motorcycle. I knelt down to Hannah and ordered, "Bring the emergency bags up from the basement, quickly! You better be back up here in 30 seconds."

After pushing Hannah back through the screen door, I grabbed the remaining handguns and looked from room to room downstairs, desperately searching for Carl. Kim alerted me to the burning barn. The entire structure was ablaze.

"God dammit, Rick." I uttered as I peered through the boarded up windows.

"They're headed for it. Maybe Rick set it to draw 'em in." Patricia's voice shook beside me.

I shoved two guns in each of their hands as Lori thundered down the stairs.

"I can't find him anywhere." Lori shook.

"Maybe he snuck outside." Carol cried.

"What do I do?!" Lori yelled.

"He was here. He must've run off, maybe looking for Rick or went after Randall himself." Carol said.

"Maybe he set the fire." Patricia said and Lori ran out to find her kid.

Hannah stumbled through the basement door, lugging the bags.

"Come on." I grabbed them out of her hands and led her outside. "Kim, get her to the car, Hannah, GO!" My eyes dropped on the scene outside. Hershel was pumping his shotgun and firing furiously at the onslaught of walkers. It was over. There was no way we were making a dent in this. Hannah ran over to the last red truck with Kim behind her.

"LORI!" I called out to her. She was firing her tiny pistol at them. I threw her some ammo and passed the last gun to Carol.

"We got to go now!" Carol screamed and slammed inside calling for Beth and Patricia.

"Lori, go!" I bawled, "I'll get Hershel!"

She nodded and ran past me. I sprinted over to edge of the porch calling out, "HERSHEL! COME ON! IT'S TIME! IT'S OVER!"

He didn't falter once, shooting and shooting and shooting. I cried out his name, over and over. I wasn't about to leave the man here. I just- couldn't. I raised my own shotgun and fired out when walkers stepped a little too close for comfort towards the old man. The cars were circling round, if I could just hold them off until they got here, they'd be able to drag Hershel back with us? Goddammit, Hershel! Don't make me leave you here! I had Hannah to protect and drag away from this doomed battleground.

"Come on!" Hershel called out to the herd, spurring them on. I saw Rick and Carl out of the corner of my eye running along the outer path. They were heading here, towards Hershel and I. I exhaled, elated at the back up and lowered my gun to shout them over.

"Rick!" I didn't get out the first syllable before something rather solid smashed into the back of my head and I collapsed to the ground like a not so elegant sack of potatoes.

"I'm sorry." A warped voice spluttered. "Rick I'm sorry, I thought she was a walker!"

Black spots danced around as my vision began to cloud over. I remember the cool wood panels feeling delightful under my cheek as I hesitantly mustered up the energy to push myself up off my face. Gunshots were echoing around me. I felt myself being picked up off the deck and clutched onto a bloody jacket.

"Daryl?" I moaned.

"I've got you, Peach." Rick drawled, revealing the identity of my saviour.

I was laid down into a…car? It was something spongy?

"Let me see her head." I heard Hershel's voice immediately over me. We were surely moving now. Wait, how the hell did they drag him away? Hershel barked again over me, "What the hell happened? D-did you kill her?" Did I die? My mind swam about a collection of cloudy uncertainties. Rick killed me? What?

"She did it on purpose. She's on her own." Rick answered coldly.

"The back of her head is bleeding but it's superficial. She might be out a little while." Hershel uttered, "Two knocks in as many days. What the hell was this about?"

"I haven't a goddamn clue. If that was one of your girls lying there would you have taken her along?" Rick roared.

"We should head for the highway." Hershel uttered.

"Good idea. If anyone else made it, they'll be there." Rick replied.

The morning sun was dancing across my face. I stirred and opened hesitant blurry eyes. Made it. These words overtook my initial waking thoughts; if anyone else had made it.

"Dad, Georgia's awake." Carl rested a hand on my shoulder as I stretched out and sat up. My head was killing me. I felt like I'd enjoyed a solid week's drinking.

I clutched the back of my head and groaned, "Ahh! What the fu-"

"Hey, hey, take it easy, now." Hershel uttered. "Lie down!"

"We're here." Rick stated monotonously, swiftly pulling up and exiting the driver's seat. My brain was desperately trying to figure out what was going on, and why it felt like a truck had rammed into the back of my head. Carl, Rick…Hershel and I were in a truck…somewhere. My mind connected back to the night at the bar, I'd been hit over the head, they'd tried to take me...but Carl wasn't there. Where was Glenn?

I peered through the window; we were in front of Sophia's untouched supplies. The rest of the entourage had already exited the car, I shakily followed suit and looked around. No one else was here, were this a cartoon a tumbleweed or two would've passed by now.

"Where's mom?" Carl asked panicking. "You said she'd be here. We gotta go back for her."

"Carl-"

"No. Why are we running? What are you doing? It is mom. We need to get her and not be safe a mile away." Carl said loudly.

"Shh. You need to be quiet, all right? Please." Rick whispered.

"Please..." Carl begged, "It's mom."

"Look, Carl, listen-"

"No." Carl broke away from his dad and stormed back around the car.

"Georgia, sit in the car, you shouldn't be walking around. Rick. You've got to get your boy to safety. I'll wait here for my girls and the others." Hershel said, "I know a few places. We'll meet up at one of them later."

"Where? Where is safe?" Rick questioned. "We're not splitting up."

"What…why are we here?" my voice shakily asked but went ignored.

"Please, keep your boy safe. I'll hide in one of the cars. If a walker gets me, so be it. I've lost my farm. I've lost my wife and maybe my daughters." Hershel said.

"You don't know that." I replied as the memories began to first trickle and then flood back. "They'll be here. I'm not leaving, either. Hannah is still out there." Oh god, I trembled. We were just about to leave the farm, it was over, I hadn't seen Hannah since she ran to the car.

"And you don't know that." Hershel responded solemnly.

"You're a man of God." Rick groaned. "Have some faith!"

"I can't profess to understand God's plan, but Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just thought he had something a little different in mind." Hershel replied.

"We stick together." Rick said before walking over to his kid.

Our ears and eyes were relentlessly scanning the area, continuously disappointed. Rogue walkers would wander into our path; we'd hide behind cars, not engaging them. Why we didn't take it down with a knife, I didn't know, but the chance to recoup and caress my splitting head was welcomed. I wasn't exactly sure in that moment how much help I'd be were more than a couple to trundle down the highway. I pressed my eyes together tightly and prayed for the passage of time.

"I don't know how much longer we can stay here." Hershel whispered.

"I ain't leaving without Hannah." I said definitively.

"And I'm not leaving without mom." Carl added on.

"So we're just gonna walk away?" Rick asked Hershel, "Not knowing if my wife or your girls are still out there? How do we live with that?"

"You've only got one concern now, just one, keeping him alive." Hershel replied, looking at Carl. "Nature may be throwing us a curveball, but that law is still true."

Rick looked around before bending down to look at Carl, "Carl. It's not safe here. I'm sorry. We'll-"

The sound of that motorcycle grumbling in the distance, raised our sunken hearts to no end. I looked behind me and saw Daryl, Carol, and Hannah all piled on the back of Daryl's bike. They were certainly squeezed together on there. Hannah was in the front, mostly on Daryl's lap, with Carol clinging on behind them. Trundling behind the motorcycle was the Hyundai, and then it was the blue truck.

"Georgie!" Hannah yelled and jumped off the bike before Daryl had the kickstand up.

She ran towards me and we fell down to the floor, embracing each other tightly. She eventually broke away and ran towards Glenn's wide embrace.

"Thank you." I somehow managed to utter out to Daryl as he pulled me in to a surrounding embrace. I exhaled into the immense feeling of safety; I'd grown accustomed to this feeling whenever his arms were wrapped around me.

"You're bleeding?" his voice groaned with concern as he gently inspected my head.

"It's okay. I uh-I got KO-ed back there." Was all I told him.

"What the hell happened?" He questioned. I brushed past him and embraced Carol, gratitude flowing, "Thank you, so much."

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked him.

"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road, figured he had to be Asian, driving like that." Daryl answered.

"Good one." Glenn chuckled.

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked.

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick answered.

"Shane?" Lori asked and Rick simply shook his head. My heart stopped dead in its tracks. My brother…he didn't make it? I staggered back, luckily meeting the hood of a truck to steady myself. I'd always thought of my brother as, well…invincible; dashed by that one cutting shake of a head.

"Andrea?" Glenn asked.

"She saved Hannah and me, and then I lost her." Carol answered.

"We saw her go down." T-Dog said.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked.

"They got her too, took her right in front of me. I was holdin' onto her, daddy. She just-" Hershel held his daughter close. Poor girl was about to burst into tears. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"

"He was in the RV. It got overrun." Rick answered.

And this time the girl did cry. The blonde sobbed into Hershel's chest.

"Kim?" T-Dog asked.

Rick looked at me with enraged eyes before he uttered, "Didn't make it."

"You definitely saw Andrea?" I asked monotonously.

"There were walkers everywhere." Lori said.

"Did you see her?" I looked up at T-Dog who looked uncertain.

"I'm gonna go back." Daryl announced and gripped onto his bike.

"No." Rick barked.

"We can't just leave her." Daryl drawled.

"We don't even know if she's there." Lori replied.

"She isn't there. She isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead." Rick responded. "There's no way to find her."

"So we're not even gonna look for her?" I stepped towards the man.

"We gotta keep moving." Rick answered. "There have been walkers crawling all over here."

"I say head east." T-Dog said.

"Stay off the main roads." Daryl said, grabbing his crossbow, "The bigger the road, the more walkers. More assholes like this one. I got him."

Daryl shot the walker in the eye before wandering over to rip back his arrow. We all dispersed and headed back towards our cars, first grabbing the remaining supplies that we left for Sophia.

"Do you mind if I drive?" I took the keys from Glenn before he could even respond.

"I do. You get in the back and rest." Hershel snatched the keys back and opened the back door of the Hyundai for me. Carol climbed on the back of Daryl's motorcycle and they led the convoy. Glenn drove my Hyundai, with Hershel, Maggie, Beth and me in tow. Finally, Rick drove Hershel's beat up red car with his family and T-Dog. Hannah was squashed on my lap, in between the Greene sisters, as she didn't want to be away from me a moment more. I glanced down at the little girl; I'd assumed she'd be shaken up and distraught but she sat there indifferent. It troubled me deeply.

After a fair few mindless miles of driving, the majority of which I managed to catch some shut eye in, Rick honked from behind us. We all pulled over and assembled outside.

"You out?" Daryl asked as Rick ran up to him.

"Running on fumes." He answered.

"We can't stay here." Maggie said.

"We all can't fit into one car."

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning." Rick said.

"Spend the night here?" Carol questioned.

"I'm freezing." Carl commented.

"Me, too." Hannah shivered next to me.

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori opened her arms and Hannah ran into them, shivering still.

"You go out for firewood, stay close." Daryl instructed, "Only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?"

"Not enough." Rick drawled.

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out." Maggie pleaded.

"Watch your mouth." Hershel scolded, "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick."

"Alright we set up a perimeter, in the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on." Rick ordered.

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie offered.

"No, we stay together." Rick demanded, "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."

"Rick we're stranded now." Glenn sighed.

"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other." Rick ranted, "I wasn't sure-I really wasn't-but we did. We're together. We keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."

"Rick, look around, okay?" Glenn uttered, "There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There's gotta be a place not just where we hole up, but that we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it." Rick scorned.

"Even if we do find a place, and we think it's safe, we can never be sure. For how long?" Maggie implored, "Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again." Hershel declared.

"We'll make camp tonight over there, get on the road at the break of day." Rick said, looking at some stone structures.

"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked Daryl.

"What if walkers come through or another group like Randall's?" Beth asked.

"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl told Rick, "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."

"How's that possible?" Beth asked.

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori questioned.

"Shane killed Randall. Just like he always wanted to." Daryl answered.

"And then the herd got him?" I finally piped up. I needed to know.

"We're all infected." Rick said after a moment of silence.

We're all infected? The words trickled into my mind, one at a time.

"What?" Daryl asked.

"At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever it is, we all carry it." Rick continued.

"And you never said anything?" Carol questioned.

"Would it have made a difference?" Rick replied.

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn asked.

"How could I have known for sure?" Rick responded, "You saw how crazy that mo-"

"That isn't your call." Glenn interrupted before Rick could finish off that word, "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone."

"Well, I thought it would be best that people didn't know." Rick stared Glenn down, followed by everyone else in the group, before walking down the road alone. His eyes never met mine. You know what, no. Not good enough, cowboy.

"I think my husband needs to be alone." Lori uttered to me as I brushed past. Ignoring her muttering, I pressed on after Rick. He'd almost reached the walled area when I caught up to him.

"Look, I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping that-"

"I killed him." Rick stated with his voice pained but strong. "I killed Shane."

The man turned to face the setting sun, "He came at me. He killed Randall to get me into the woods. He planned it. I had-I had no choice. I gave him every chance and he kept leading me further out. He pushed me, and I let him. And after a while, I knew-I knew what he was doing, what he was up to, and I kept going. I didn't stop. I could have, but I just wanted it over; dogging me every step of the way. Acting like I stole Lori and Carl, like-like I was in the way. I just wanted it over. I wanted him dead."

He turned to face me, dead on, "I killed him. He turned. That's how I knew Jenner-Jenner was right. Carl put him down."

"Put-put him down." The words fell from my lips, "like a damn dog."

Rick took a step towards me, extending his arm to grasp my shoulder but I slapped it away, bore my eyes into his before storming back towards the cars. Well, there you have it. You got what you wanted, an answer. You'd stabbed that driver with a shard of glass to survive, to save yourself, in self-defence. Rick had killed Shane...in self-defence. He'd taken his life.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" I asked Hershel quietly as I stormed up to him.

"She tried to kill you." He tried to catch my fevered gaze, "She smacked you in the back of the head with a shotgun. My guess is to knock you out, leave you behind for the walkers."

"But…what?!"

"Rick let her go; she wouldn't have gotten far outta there alone." He finished.

I simply stared back at the old man, still seething from Rick's confession.

"He spares her." I scoffed.

"Middle of a herd alone sounds worse than a bullet. That big heart of yours is a blessing most of the time. You need to know when it's taking you for a ride." He drawled, "Are you with Rick on this?"

I scoffed and stormed off, "I'm looking for firewood."

I stumbled through the woods alone gathering the logs. How did it come to this, brother? Shane…Shane had set up to murder his best friend. I'd almost met my end at the hands of that cretin, I laughed in the face of my own forgiveness. What are we left with now? We have near-empty cars, a shaken up group, no shelter, no food, nearly no ammo. We're murderers, we lie, and we do whatever we can to get our own way. This is humanity; this is what opposes the dead. By the time I returned to the others, the sun had well and truly set. It didn't take long for Daryl to set up the fire with the spoils of my trek. The group huddled around the small fire, desperately trying to stay warm.

"We're not safe with him. Keeping something like that from us." Carol whispered to Daryl. "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."

"Nah. Rick's done alright by me." Daryl replied.

"You're his henchman and I'm a burden." Carol said. "You deserve better."

"What do you want?" Daryl asked.

"A man of honour." Carol hissed.

"Rick has honour." Daryl replied.

"I think we should take our chances." Maggie said.

"Don't be foolish. There's no food, no fuel, no ammo." Hershel replied.

Some leaves rustled and we all sat up, "What was that?"

"Could be anythin'." Daryl answered, standing up, "Racoon, possum."

"Walker."

"We need to leave. What are we waiting for?" Carol asked.

"Which way?" Glenn asked.

"It came from over there." Maggie answered, looking off towards some trees.

"Back from where we came." Beth said.

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot." Rick said and a branch snapped.

"Don't panic." Hershel said.

"I'm not sitting in here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now." Maggie told Rick.

"No one is going anywhere." Rick ordered.

"Do something." Carol demanded.

"I am doing something! I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" Rick exclaimed. The group collectively inhaled, but I sat there indifferent.

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us." Rick turned to me, noticing everyone was staring at me. "Lori, he staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. Lori, he gave me no choice! He was my friend, but he came after me." Rick said and Carl started crying into his mother's chest. My eyes bore into him.  
"My hands are clean." Rick continued, and no one really looked at him. "Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead, I say there's a place for us, but maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you go and find out for yourself? Send me a postcard."

When no one moved, Rick continued to speak, "Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get. No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight, you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."


	31. Season 3: 01: Seed

T-Dog, Rick, Carl and Daryl were investigating a solitary house, sweeping room to room, clearing out any and all walkers. This had become our routine as the weeks dragged into months; every member of our group had their roles to move through apathetically.

I propped my elbow on top of the wheel of my rental car, gazing listlessly out the window. Hannah was peering between the front seats, on high alert. Lori was wedged into the front passenger seat, occupying a great deal of space these days. The house was displaying no sign of activity. Glenn, Maggie and Carol were poised at different vantage points surrounding the building, ready to burst inside at the first sign of trouble.

It was finally beginning to warm up again after a tough winter. The walker's speed had deteriorated with the bitter weather; but right on cue, they were speeding back up again. We hadn't lost anyone in these seven months on the road, and counted our blessings each and every day. We hadn't really spent more than a week in one single place. I'd spent what I guessed was my 26th birthday hiding out in the pantry of a roadside diner and Hannah had spent her 8th birthday huddled under a bridge, jolting awake at the sound of a twig snapping. There were just too many of them, herds were coming together and our luck always seemed to run straight into them.

"Georgie, are we gonna sleep here tonight?" Hannah tapped me on the shoulder lightly.  
Rick whistled for us all to enter the house. I shook my head out of my daze and motioned Hannah to climb out the back. I grabbed my stuff before taking Hannah's hand and walking into the house with Lori. Hannah had Lori's bag slung over her shoulder. I smiled at her, grateful no one even had to ask, she helped of her own accord, in any way she could. Olivia would be proud. Rick closed the door behind us and the group filed into the living room. He pulled me to one side and whispered,

"There's nothing here."

"I expected nothing less." I grunted back at him.

The man drew a sharp intake of breath, and pondered his next words carefully.

"We're up shit creek, Sheriff; you don't need to dance around it." I hissed quietly.

"I'm doing my best here, Georgia." He replied with pained eyes.

I glanced into the living room; our group was huddling together, desperate to keep warm.

"I don't doubt that for a second."

"What would you have me do then? You won't even look at me."

"I appreciate the weight on your shoulders. I'm not looking to start anything with you. I just-" I sighed in exhaustion, "I just want to rest." I brushed past the man and felt a tension in my chest dissipate.  
"I'm hungry." Hannah tugged on my shirt as I sat down next to her and whispered. My eyes surveyed the room, other than Daryl plucking feathers off what I assume was an owl there wasn't a great deal on offer. I rifled through my bag and handed her the last granola bar. A box had fallen down the back of cupboard in the last house, a rare find these days, but we'd ploughed through them just as quickly as they were acquired and now I was out. As I ran my hand through Hannah's hair absent-mindedly, my own stomach quietly rumbled away, I was exhausted.

Carl emerged with the only spoils of this house; he pulled out two cans and a rusty can opener. I didn't need to read the label; the scent wafted over and gave it away. Let's just say the smell would have made me puke if I'd had anything in my stomach. Rick walked over to Carl and snatched up the can of dog food. He looked at it pensively before chucking it into the fireplace. We all jumped at the rattling clank filling the silent room.  
"Psst." T-Dog's eyes grew wide as he caught sight of the walkers dawdling towards the house. We all knew this dance back to front and sideways. It was time to move on. I sighed before pulling Hannah to her feet and grabbing our bag. With Lori on one arm and Hannah behind me, we ran out. I helped Lori and Hannah clamber back into the Hyundai and rushed to check everyone was safe before climbing into the driver's seat and heading out. When we were a decent number of miles away, we were stopped in the middle of the road.  
"Hannah, you stay with Lori." I told the little girl and headed over to Daryl.  
"We got no place left to go." T-Dog exclaimed as Maggie laid out a map on top of the truck.  
"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off." Maggie announced.  
"We'll never make it south." I sighed.  
"What would you say? That was about 150 head?" Daryl questioned.  
"That was last week. It could be twice that by now." Glenn answered dejectedly.  
"This river could have delayed them." Hershel suggested, pointing at the route, "If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through here."  
"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." T-Dog replied.  
"So we're blocked." Maggie stated.  
"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville." Rick said.  
"Yeah, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-Dog responded.  
"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newman we'll push west, haven't been through there yet." Rick replied. "We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks."  
"Alright, is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long; we got to fill up on water. We can boil it later." T-Dog asked.  
"Knock yourself out." Rick answered.

"Rick, she can't take much more of this moving about." I urged, nodding towards Lori.

"What else can we do? Let her give birth on the run?" Rick whispered.

"Do you see a way around that?" Hershel patted Rick's shoulder before leaving.

"Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt. That owl didn't exactly hit the spot." Daryl drawled to Rick as he adjusted his crossbow.  
"Be careful." I called over my shoulder as I walked towards Hershel's car.  
"Yes ma'am." He winked.

I suggested to Lori she should stretch her legs. We chatted about the baby and I followed up on her heartburn which had thankfully subsided.

"You've been like a sister to me, George…" Lori interjected randomly.

I raised an eyebrow.

"I can never thank you enough for all you've done for my family, helping us get out of King County, saving Carl. And what went down between them…I'm so sorry."

"You should be. You played your role." I uttered coldly and left her standing there stunned. I knew her words had meaning to them but in that moment I refused to humour it. Of course she would feel regret, of course she would wish events had transpired another way, of course she wanted a do-over. And? So what? What exactly did her meagre words bring me? Forgiveness hadn't treated me well in the past; it literally smacked me in the head and left me for dead.

* * *

When Rick and Daryl eventually came back, they brought unbelievable news, they found a place: a prison. They found a prison. I mean, with fences and all, it could be a great place. I didn't want to get my hopes up; I kept them as stifled as I could.  
Rick opened up the first gate using cutters and we all silently slipped through. We were now protected by two fences, on the secure path the guards would have strolled down. The prisoners started lining up along the inner fence to greet us. We were probably the first food they've seen in a long while. We ran along the gravelled corridor, through the thrashing, snarling walkers to a door in the fence. We were now at the towering entrance into the grounds of the prison, the walker-filled grounds.  
"It's perfect. If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight." Rick said.  
"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.  
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn offered.  
"No. It's a suicide run." Maggie said.  
Rick walked over to Glenn, "Glenn, and Maggie, T-Dog, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, go back to the other tower. Carol you've become a good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel and Carl take this tower." Rick turned to me and held up the clips to shut the gate, "Think we can do this?"  
I exhaled, nodded and grabbed the clips from him with a smidge of attitude.  
"You stay with Lori." I pointed at Hannah.  
I took my gun out of my waistband and screwed on the silencer.

"I'm thinking slide by the path and get up the hill on this side." Rick whispered to me.

I nodded, "Yes, sir."

Lori opened the gate and we snuck inside. As we ran up to the gate, I shot a few walkers that got a little too close. It was fast and overwhelming. A walker within swiping distance flopped to the ground courtesy of an arrow to the skull. I glanced back at the tower before continuing. As we ran, Rick skidded to a halt suddenly when Carol shot right in front of his feet.  
"Sorry!" She called out.  
It was time to sprint. We were rapidly becoming overwhelmed as more and more were attracted to us. Finally we got to the gate. A walker was coming towards the entrance so Rick kicked it square away before slamming it shut for me to latch on the clips. He spun to cover our backs and dragged me by the wrist into the guard tower beside us.  
"Light it up!" I heard Daryl yell as we ascended the spiral stairs and burst out into the open. Our group was littering the walkers with a barrage of bullets. It took no time at all for the field to be claimed.  
"Woo-hoo!" I screamed and jumped up and down on the tower. The last of the shots rang out of the grounds. There was no movement, it was clear, it was ours. In the heat of the moment, Rick and I embraced in sheer joy. The beaming grin plastered across his face seamed dissonant to the sunken demeanour I'd grown so used to. He pecked the top of my head and pulled away to survey our good work. I stumbled back as the smile slumped from my face; I had purposely distanced myself from Rick ever since that last night on the farm. This small moment of reconciliation didn't sit well with me. Not yet. I started the descent down the tower alone and waited for the others to catch up to us.

* * *

That night Daryl took watch atop a tipped over bus. He'd hunted us a few rabbits before dark. The group was huddled around a small fire in the centre of the grounds.  
"Mmm. Just like mom used to make." Glenn joked before throwing the bone away.  
"Tomorrow we'll put all of the bodies together. Want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water." T-Dog enthused.  
"And the soil is good. We could plant some seed; grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." Hershel said before looking over at Rick, "That's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now."  
"This'll be a good place to have the baby." Beth offered words of comfort to Lori. "Safe."  
I watched as Carol got up with a plate of food and started walking towards Daryl. I watched as they talked and Carol started rubbing Daryl's shoulder. I sighed and looked away when I heard them laughing. You're being ridiculous, I told myself, there's nothing to that, and besides, ain't like he's your boyfriend. No one has had more than two seconds to themselves during our time on the road. I cringed and squashed the green-eyed monster down firmly with intent before turning to hear Hershel's words.  
"Bethy, sing Paddy Reilly for me. I haven't heard that, I think, since your mother was alive." Hershel asked.  
"Daddy, not that one, please." Maggie begged.  
"How about 'The Parting Glass'?" Hershel suggested.  
"No one wants to hear." Beth replied.  
"I do." I said.  
"Okay." Beth sighed before she started singing.  
Hannah leaned back against me, her head on my chest, as Maggie started singing, too. Rick eventually sauntered over to us and Carl offered his bowl of leftover squirrel to his father. Without missing a beat, Rick held out the meat in front of Lori.  
"I had some." She said.  
Rick didn't move, hell, he didn't even look at her. You could cut the tension with a knife. It was ice cold. Lori gave in and took some of the food from him.  
"Good night and joy be with you all." Maggie and Beth finished and Daryl sat next to me. I hadn't even noticed his arrival.  
"Beautiful." Hershel commented.  
"Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there; got a big day tomorrow." Rick said.  
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.  
"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies are intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary." Rick continued.  
"An armoury?" Daryl asked.  
"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location, weapons, food, and medicine. This place could be a gold mine." Rick replied.  
"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we make a dent." Hershel stated.  
"That's why we have to go in there... hand to hand." Rick said, "After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance."  
Rick stood up and walked away and Lori followed him. I looked down at Hannah and nodded to indicate it was time to settle down for the night. I tried my best to assemble a mildly comfortable sleeping arrangement for her. Rick and Lori's hushed tones caught my attention, I forced myself to look back at the fire and stay out of it. Despite everything, I felt a twinge of guilt for speaking to Lori in such a hateful way. She's pushing through a barrage of anger from all angles, and my pissy addition…may not be entirely necessary, especially when she has the pressing worry of imminent childbirth. I sighed and tucked down for the night, mulling it over, forgiving her input sure wouldn't grant a do-over, nor however, would punishing her for the rest of her days.

* * *

Early the next morning, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, T-Dog, and I went in to clear out the courtyard walkers. The others rattled and screamed behind the fence as a distraction. We shuffled in a circle formation, so no walkers could sneak up behind us.

"Keep it tight! Keep it tight!" Daryl barked. Maggie and I took the rear of the circle, cleaning up any walkers that still displayed signs of movement. The formation required complete trust in all members; Maggie and I were essentially stumbling backwards into a crowd of walkers at the beginning.  
"Don't break rank!" Rick called out.  
"We need that!" T-Dog replied. I spun quickly to see him snatch up a riot shield and smack down a walker, I broke away to finish the monster off.  
"Georgia!" Daryl yelled and I ran back into place.  
"Almost there." Rick ushered us round the corner and jumped, motioning us to press back against the wall. There was another open fence, and behind it were a metric shit-tonne of walkers. Walkers in head to toe riot gear were emerging from behind a dumpster further on. Daryl shot one in the head, but the arrow bounced off the helmet. Walkers dripped out of a doorway near us. They were coming from everywhere!

"DARYL!" Rick bellowed for his right hand man. Somehow they managed to plough through and block the initial corral of walkers in. One of the new super walkers was pushing down against Maggie as she struggled to keep it at arm's length. How am I supposed to get to the brain? The brain, the brain, the brain…I jumped up on the walkers back and plunged my knife into the back of its unprotected neck, forcing the knife up the way. Maggie tossed the lifeless body to the ground with a surprised look on her face.  
"Did you see that?" Maggie called out.  
The men nodded and sprang into action, planting their knives in the limited unprotected sites of the walkers. I stumbled backwards, panting. Well hot damn, we did it.  
"Stop." Rick called out as we jogged back towards the others.  
"Well, it looks secure." Glenn replied.  
"Not from the look of that courtyard over there." Daryl responded and pointed to the courtyard that was filled with walkers, "And that's a civilian."  
"So the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison." T-Dog said.  
"Well, if there's walls down, what are we gonna do?" Glenn asked. "We can't rebuild this whole place."  
"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." Rick said and led the way towards the gate. I exhaled in sheer disappointment. This was already some feat, clearing out the grounds, this main courtyard, and now the big, scary, imposing, walker-infested building. T-Dog patted me on the shoulder in comradery and jogged after the group. I took up the rear, partially to catch my breath.  
The stairs through the gated tunnel were ascended; Rick poised and ready waited for Daryl to slide open the door. We walked in quietly, to find nothing too troubling; I didn't hear any walkers as I slid the door closed behind me. Maybe this part was clear. Rick walked further into the concrete drab room. There didn't seem to be anyone home, the only sounds I could detect were our own footsteps and dripping water from a leaky pipe. It was just really dirty and smelled a little dusty. We all turned back to Rick and shrugged or nodded to indicate our locations were clear. He motioned his intent to investigate the guard station, disgustingly decorated with blood splattered across the window. I held my breath, watching his shadow sneak up the stairs, but the shadow of the guard remained lifeless, I assumed the man had never reanimated. When Rick came down, he had keys. He quietly unlocked the doors that led to the cells and we all filed in. There was an eerie stillness in the air. There were no sounds of walkers. There were a few dead bodies, but everything seemed fine. Daryl walked up the steps to the higher cells and as I was about to follow suit, Rick stepped out in front of me and climbed the stairs two at a time. The sound of a walker slamming against their cell bars shook us all out of the eerie stillness. The trapped walkers were no problem to despatch. The men got to work clearing out the bodies, chucking them off of the balcony to clear the top level cells out. Maggie and I went to fetch the others.

* * *

"What do you think?" Rick asked as we brought our stuff in.  
"Home sweet home." Glenn answered.  
"For the time being." Rick replied,  
"It's secure?" Lori asked.  
"This cell block is." Rick answered but still didn't look at her.  
"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel questioned.  
"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."  
"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, unsure.  
"I found some keys on some guards. Daryl has a set, too." Rick said.  
"I ain't sleepin' in no cage. I'll take the perch." Daryl said.  
"Come on, bub." I led Hannah up the stairs to our new abode and surveyed the grey dark encasing walls. Maybe Daryl was on to something there…  
"Georgie, can I have the top bunk?" Hannah asked.  
"Sure." I answered, "Maybe we can get some of your drawings up here…spruce the place up a little."  
I set down our bags in the corner and began to unpack her items.  
"I can do it myself!" She exclaimed when I tried to help her.  
I held my hands up in surrender and chuckled at her serious face.


	32. Season 3: 02: Sick

The next morning I was cleaning out my gun, aware of Daryl loitering in the entryway to my cell.  
"Morning." I looked over my shoulder, noticed he was on edge and spoke before he had the chance to. "Don't you dare-"  
"Look, Georgia-" Daryl said.  
I stopped what I was doing, "Don't you dare "look, Georgia!" me!"  
"Well that's your name, ain't it?" he sighed, his eyes were heavy, I could tell he was exhausted.  
"I was okay to help out yesterday, what changed?"  
"I ain't arguing with you again, it's purely a numbers game; those small halls 'n getting on top of each other. Only a few of us are going. Besides, if that baby decides to make an appearance, you're needed here."  
I scoffed, "This coming from you or our esteemed leader?" I slid my gun into my waistband, obeying the mighty one and moved to leave my cell. He went to grab my arm but I brushed it off. A few minutes later they left, and I suddenly felt a smidge bad for getting pissed at Daryl. He was only trying to look out for me, and it did make good sense. I would keep that revelation to myself, of course. Sitting and doing nothing just didn't sit well with me these days.

* * *

"Open the door! It's Hershel! GEORGIA!" Rick yelled. I bolted up and we all ran over to the cell block door. Our eyes fell upon Maggie and Rick rolling a bloody Hershel on a metal table. His lower leg had been hacked off, brutally, hastily. My heart was racing as I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, double-time. Beth screamed out sobbing at the sight of her father. Carl heaved the door open. They rolled him into his room and hurried to put him on his bed.  
"Carol, I'll need your belt! I-I need bandages!" I slammed down next to Hershel and held my breath as I pulled away the cover. Blood spurted out into my hands as I slapped the crudely wrapped shirt back down over the exposed wound. I snatched Carol's belt and rapidly tugged it around Hershel's leg to restrict blood flow further.  
"We used everything we had." Glenn replied shakily upon his return.  
"Well, get more. Anything!" I cried as I yanked a towel from his sink.  
Lori turned to Carl, "Go get the towels from the back, right next to my bed."  
"Is he gonna die?" Beth whimpered.  
"No, no, no, no. He's gonna be okay." Lori told the young girl.  
"You think you can stabilize him?" Rick hovered over me.  
"Something tells me this is your work? I need to keep his leg elevated. Get pillows!" I never stopped working on him.  
Rick ran out of the cell and I found a moment to realise my hands were soaked "He's already bled through the sheets."  
"We can burn the wound to clot the blood. I can start a fire." Glenn suggested.  
"No! The shock could kill him!" My eyes widened as Lori passed me the towels. "It's not gonna stop the arteries from bleeding. We need to keep it dressed and let it heal on its own."  
It was sincerely the best I could do. I scoured my brain for every last morsel of information it retained from school, from those textbooks Hershel had passed on to me. I was in no way equipped for anything more.

* * *

"It has to stop eventually, right?" Lori took a saturated rag out of my hands.

"It slowed down quite a bit already. If we can get him through this-" Carol sighed.

"WHEN we get him through this" Lori corrected her harshly.

"-we'll need crutches." Carol finished.

"Right now we need antibiotics, painkillers, some sterile gauze, I need tools. There has to be an infirmary here." I sighed. I'd felt so helpless.

"If there is, we'll find it." Carol patted my shoulder in solidarity.  
When I'd done everything I could I left Lori and Carol to watch over Hershel so I could clean myself up just a little bit. As I watched the stagnant bucket of water grow light pink to deep red, the commotion outside grew more and more heated. I'd heard Rick utter something about prisoners, survivors and upon noticing Daryl's absence I headed towards the door to investigate.  
"Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn please. I go where I damn please!" A stranger's hostile voice bellowed throughout the room. I walked out to see five guys in prison jumpsuits, and one of them was aiming his gun at T-Dog.  
Daryl turned feverishly to look at me, "Georgia, get back in there."  
The guy with the gun looked at me and smirked. Every part of me cringed.  
"Georgia! Get back." Daryl commanded.  
"Now why don't you let the little lady do what she wants, hick?" The guy asked.  
"I didn't ask for your opinion did I?" Daryl snapped at the man, "Georgia!"  
I was unsure of what to do; I was scared, truth told. I stepped back into the cell block and leant out of sight against the wall, listening to Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl leaving with the prisoners. I beckoned Carl over, "Where's Hannah? Can you help me out, keep her mind off of all this, and keep her away from it too?"  
Carl looked taken aback "But I have been! Beth's reading with her over there, and I was drawing with her earlier, I swear!"  
"Okay! Okay! Thank you, bud. I was just so absorbed; I didn't know what was going on around me. I should have known, of course you stepped up. I really appreciate it." I playfully punched his arm.  
He smiled and looked relieved, "You don't have to worry, I'm always looking out for her."  
"You're the best, dude." We fist-bumped and I returned to Hershel.  
A short while later I heard T-Dog's voice, "Food's here."  
"What you got?" Carl asked as he opened the door.  
"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans" T-Dog answered as he and Rick walked into the cell block with boxes and bags of food, "There's a lot more where this came from."  
"Any change?" Rick asked Glenn.  
"Bleeding is under control and no fever, but his breath is laboured and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet." I answered.  
"Take my cuffs, put them on him. I'm not taking any chances." Rick told Glenn before walking away to put down his bags of food. I rubbed Glenn's shoulder as I passed him to confront Rick but Lori had beaten me to it. Our conversation could wait until later.

* * *

"Check it out." Carl smirked at me to follow him into Hershel's room. He slammed a duffel bag on the floor and stepped back to receive his praise.

I gasped, "Where did you get this?" The bag was crammed full of medical supplies.

"From the infirmary, wasn't much left but I cleared it out." Carl grinned. I began furiously digging around inside the bag. Everything I needed to seal Hershel's wound, cut off the arteries, even close over the exposure was all there, and then some.

"Carl. This is amazing!" I feverishly began my work.

"You went by yourself?" Lori exhaled sharply.

"Yeah." Carl stated matter-of-factly.

"Are you crazy?" his mother hissed.

"No big deal. I killed two walkers." Carl brushed off her concern.

"You-all right, do you see this? This was with the whole group."

"We needed supplies, so I got them!"

"I appreciate that, but-"

"Then get off my back!"

"Carl! She's your mother. You can't talk to her like that." Beth interrupted.

Carl bolted from the room as Lori futilely called after him, "Listen, I think it's great that you wanna help-"

"He'll be fine. It wasn't the smartest move but he did help-" I breathed to Lori.

"I'll focus on my son. You focus on Hershel." Lori sighed and went after her son.

I did just that. Hershel was in a much better way now, with clean sterile bandages and sutures. Carol and Glenn disappeared under Carol's strict insistence and Glenn's laboured hesitation, leaving the Greene sisters and me behind. I took the brief chance to check on Hannah and found her happily organising our new pantry at the end of the cell block.

"You okay?" I tapped lightly on the door.

She turned and nodded, "Mmhmm, is Hershel better?"

"He's better than he was but it's still early days." I answered honestly, "Don't worry, Carl got all the supplies we needed to fix him up. He's got a real good chance now."

Hannah paused for a moment before continuing to stack the cans of rice pudding, "I'm not worried. You'll fix him, just like you fixed Carl and Beth and Daryl and T-Dog."

"Well, I hope so, but that's never certain. Even in a fancy ass hospital. Having your leg cut off out here isn't the same, Hannah."

"Getting shot and slicing your wrists open ain't everyday either" She turned round to face me again. I focused on keeping my mouth from falling open. There was a certain depth to her tone I'd yet to hear from this little girl.

"I've come across those scenarios in practice before; I wasn't walking in completely blind like with this." I reiterated my point. This was no walk in the park.

"Mom said you were an emergency room surgeon." Hannah stated matter-of-factly, "She said you'd save people in real trouble, not just coughs and sore tummies."

"I'd only been practicing one year. A lot of it was watching, and assisting."

"Why are you putting yourself down?" She folded her arms harshly across her chest.

"I don't want you thinking I'm some superhero." I sighed and leant against the door frame.

"But you are!" She raised her voice a little.

"Hannah." I started.

"So I'm not worried." She brushed past me and her little feet dinked up the metal stairs to the upper cells. I felt a number of things as I stared back into the neatened pantry. I was prideful; my niece saw me as an invincible superhero, saving lives. That was pretty cool, sure, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach reminded me once more, the day will surely come when that high plummets down and collides with the ground. I can't shield this little girl from reality, but she's so hell bent on keeping herself from it. It wasn't super powers in my opinion, it was sheer dumb luck, and it was going to run out.

Beth shrieked out to the cell block, "Somebody help! PLEASE! Help him!"  
Beth was sobbing as Maggie pulled her out of the way into a tight embrace.  
Lori was performing CPR on Hershel, as she breathed into his mouth again Hershel's arm wrapped itself around her. Beth let out a scream as I yanked Lori back. Hershel gasped his eyes wide open before falling asleep again.

* * *

"Hershel stopped breathing. Mom saved him." Carl said. "It's true."  
Rick had walked into the cell and nodded at me.  
"Still no fever." I smiled and sighed in relief simultaneously. Rick mimicked my relief.  
Hershel's eye lids started flickering, and Maggie and Beth leaned in closer.  
"Daddy?" Maggie asked.  
"Daddy." Beth smiled.  
Rick took his key and took the handcuffs off of Hershel. Hershel looked around before his eyes settled on Rick and he held his hand out to him. Rick grasped it and kneeled down next to the man. Lori left the room and Rick held Hershel's hand out to Beth, "Come here."

I smiled at the family moment before leaving the cell to give them some alone time.

Daryl was stationed outside the room, his back up against the wall, arms crossed, one leg perched up. He grabbed my hand before leading me to my cell.  
"You're shaking." He said as I dropped his hand  
"I'm sorry." I placed my hands behind my head, ran them through my hair, and finally dropped them to perch on my waist, "I shouldn't have yelled at you earlier. You were only looking out for me."  
He brushed my hair out of my face and pulled me towards him, into a tight embrace. He knew this would only make me spill over, he knew fine. I shivered and he held me tighter. "He's gonna be okay. Because of you."  
I concentrated on restoring my breathing and heart rate to a regular pace, shaking my head I uttered, "Because of us, all of us. I was so scared….What happened with those prisoners?"  
"Three didn't make it. We put the remaining two in another cell block. If they bother us, Rick'll kill 'em." Daryl answered.  
"It's never tea party soirees and new additions to the Christmas card list, is it?" I breathed into his chest.  
Daryl just chuckled, "You're so weird."


	33. Season 3: 03: Walk With Me

I couldn't sleep; my brain was wired from nightmare after nightmare. The farm, the camp, all those nights on the road; I gave up long before the sun had the chance to rise. Luckily, Rick put us all to work bright and early; my mind could be occupied elsewhere. We used Hershel's truck and the acquired truck we used to carry Daryl's bike all winter to move the prison bus away from the entrance. Rick beckoned us all over for an addendum to his game plan.  
"Okay, let's get those other cars in. We'll park 'em in the west entry of the yard." he announced.

"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant vacancy sign." Daryl commented.

"After that we need to load up these corpses so we can burn 'em." Rick finished.

"Gonna be a long day." T-Dog sighed.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use their help." Carol asked.

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl answered.

"Guard tower? They were just up there last night." Rick said.

"Glenn! Maggie!"

We saw Glenn's head pop up at the window of the guard tower and rapidly disappear again. He walked out onto the platform, shirtless, zipping up his pants. It didn't take a genius to realise what was going on here.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" Glenn awkwardly called down.

We all laughed as Daryl called up, "You comin'?"

"What?" Glenn asked and we laughed harder.

"You comin'?" Daryl repeated.

Glenn looked confused and looked back at Maggie.

"Come on, we could use a hand." Daryl called.

"Yeah, we'll be right down." Glenn replied. I snickered but also felt bad for ruining the moment for them. It must've been a nice reprieve from reality.

"Hey, Rick." T-Dog nudged him.

We followed T-Dog's line of sight to see the two remaining prisoners strolling through the courtyard; our courtyard, the specifically designated off-limits courtyard. I audibly sighed and felt my heart skip a beat.  
"Stay here." Daryl uttered to me and I stayed with Carol as the men walked up to them. Rick stormed ahead and I instinctively turned away to face Carol.

"How do you feel? Our new neighbours already broke the rules." Carol sighed, leaning to the side for a better view.

"It's not my call." I played with my fingers, anxiously.

"As Rick's right hand lady I think your two cents has some standing." Carol absent-mindedly muttered.

My eyes shot up, "I think his wife takes that spot."

Carol drifted back to my eye line as the commotion at the fence died down, "Not these days, not after Sh…" My brother's name got caught in the back of her throat and she grew flustered, realising the boundary she was dancing along. "I didn't mean to-I just, that's the way it comes across, these days."

I looked back at the group, now leading the prisoners over to the gates. Clearly their conversation had taken a turn. I turned back to Carol, "I get it. And you don't have to tiptoe, I'm under no illusions regarding that night. Rick did what he had to, just like…we all do what we have to. I trust him."  
"Are you serious?" Rick asked T-Dog as the group emerged from throwing the prisoners out, "You want them living in the cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons. You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"  
"I never stopped." T-Dog answered. "Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."  
"I don't know. Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn said.  
"After all we've been through? We fought so hard for all of this, what if they decide to take it?" Carol asked, "We've got kids in here. I wouldn't feel comfortable."  
"It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. It feels weird all of the sudden to have these other people around." Maggie said.  
"You brought us in." T-Dog replied.  
"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms. Didn't give us a choice." Maggie responded.  
"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn said.  
"They're convicts, bottom line."  
"Those two actually might have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog told Rick. The group fell into despondent thoughts. I'd assured Carol we were doing what needed to be done, within the confines of this context. Apply another context…it was murder.  
"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. I could have been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." Daryl drawled. I watched him speak intently. He rarely spoke about his life before all of this, I'd only drawn assumptions from fragmented pieces, I only knew what he chose to present these days. Did it really matter now? Who we were…the memories entwined in my past, both repressed and cherished, those that made me who I was…they felt like myths, whispers in the wind, they no longer felt real. The people I'd grown up with, Rick, Lori…my brother…my memories didn't look like the people I knew now. My niece, Hannah and Carl had jumped from innocent, carefree children way past childhood and head first into adulthood, responsibility and ever-present danger. Did any of it honestly matter anymore?  
"So are you with me?" T-Dog asked.  
"Hell no. Let 'em take their chances out on the road just like we did." Daryl scoffed.  
"What I'm saying, Daryl-" T-Dog started.  
"When I was a rookie I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and then, two weeks later, shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick stormed off, indicating an end to the discussion.  
After we'd gather our thoughts, we started moving the walker bodies into one big pile in the middle of the field.  
"Move the cars to the upper yard." Rick called out after we were done, "Point 'em facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail. We'll get the prisoners a week's supply for the road."

I was quietly glad to hear Rick's compromise. My earlier frets were somewhat soothed by it. Yes, it was just too dangerous to consider another way but it wasn't cruelly tossing them into the fire. It was a chance.

"They might not last a week." T-Dog sighed.

"Their choice" Rick drawled.

* * *

After parking the silver truck in the courtyard, Rick called me over to join him, Glenn, and Daryl in grabbing some fire wood and scouting the immediate area.

Rick held out his arm to signal me to hang back a little bit.

"You were awful quiet up there. What's your take on it?" he drawled.

"I trust your judgement, Rick." I brushed through only to be stopped by my arm being grabbed gently. I sheepishly met his eyes.

"And I value yours." He drawled with determined eye contact as he dropped his hand, "Heard you pottering around this morning…"

"Yeah, I uh, I was never really a heavy sleeper." I sighed.

"One day soon, it won't be like this anymore." He drawled solemnly.

I gripped his hand tightly and mustered the most genuine smile I could as I uttered, "I know."

"Then what's on your mind?"

"Rick, should I take her out?" Glenn interrupted, pointing his gun at a walker.  
"No. If that armoury hadn't been picked clean, we could spare the ammo." Rick answered.  
"I'll start makin' runs; the sooner the better." Daryl said.  
"We'll throw as much wood as we can in the dog run." Rick said.  
"Won't the fire attract more walkers?" I asked.  
"Yeah, maybe we should bury them." Glenn agreed.  
"We're behind a fence. It's worth the one time risk to get rid of the bodies for good." Rick told us. "I don't want to be planting crops in walker-rotted soil."

We grabbed a bundle of firewood and stepped back through the hole in the fence, "Looky here."  
"He is one tough son of a bitch." Glenn uttered as we all stepped up to watch Hershel walking with crutches. Our firewood toppled to the ground in amazement.  
"All right, Hershel!" Glenn yelled out.  
"Shh. Keep your cheers down." Daryl hushed, pointing to the walkers on the other side of the fence ambling about.  
"Oh man, can't we just have one good day?" Glenn sighed.  
Hershel was accompanied by Lori, Carl, Hannah and Beth. Rick and Lori were looking at each other and I couldn't stifle my smile. I distinctly remember the flutter of hope in my heart, I remember catching the feeling in their gaze; they're coming back from this. Anyone could see the tension between the two, it was palpable. Rick wouldn't even look at her, most days. The moment so glittering before us, slipped through our fingers like streams of sand. I saw something move, in that characteristic shuffle behind them.  
"Walkers!" I screamed as I skidded and started running towards the entrance to the field.  
"Get out of there! Now!" Rick yelled from behind me. It took mere moments for him to overtake me and sprint ahead.

"The lock! Hurry up!" Rick yelled when we got to the door.  
Glenn threw the keys at Daryl and he threw them to me, and I threw them to Rick. As Rick undid the lock, I saw Carl, Maggie, and Lori run into the cell block, and Hannah was with Hershel and Beth.  
"Out of my way!" Rick told the prisoners as we came to the second entrance.  
"Come on, come on!" Daryl yelled.  
Once Rick got it open we sprinted towards the courtyard. We got the gate open and we started shooting the walkers.  
"Georgia!" Hannah yelled. I ran up and grabbed her little hand, squeezing it, assuring her it was all okay and to stay put.  
"What the hell happened?" Rick asked.  
"The gate was open!" Beth answered,  
"Where's Lori, Carl, everyone else?" Rick asked.  
"Maggie, Carl, and Lori ran that way, into C block." Hershel hollered back.  
"And T was bit." Beth said.  
"Anyone else?" Rick asked.  
"I couldn't tell." She replied.  
"Stay put." Rick ordered.  
"Those chains didn't break on their own." Glenn told us. "Someone took an axe or cutters to 'em."  
Rick looked back at Axel and Oscar who were walking into the courtyard.  
"You think they did it?" I asked.  
"Who else?" Rick responded seconds before alarms started blazing off. It was deafening.  
"What is that?!" Glenn cried out. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"  
The blaring of the alarm was drawing walkers towards the prison. They were stacking up against the fences.  
Rick, Glenn and I used our guns to shoot the courtyard speakers before Rick ran over to the prisoners, "How the hell can this be happening!?"  
Oscar held up his hands, "It has to be the backup generators."  
"Well, how do you turn those on?" Rick questioned.  
"There are three that's connected to the diesel tank, okay? Each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun." Oscar answered.  
"Can someone open up those main gates electronically with full power?"  
"I only worked in there a few days." Oscar replied. "I guess it might be possible."  
"Come with us!" Rick ordered. This was a complete and utter nightmare. The dinner bell was ringing for all undead in the immediate area.  
We sprinted inside our cell block and were subsequently greeted by some new residents. We ran around, killing them off. There was no time for this.  
"We just took out five of 'em in there." Daryl barked to Rick as we walked over to him.  
"There were four of them in here, but no sign of Lori or any of them." Rick said.  
"They must have been pushed back further into the prison." I said.  
"Somebody is playing games!" Rick yelled. "We'll split up and look for the others. Whoever gets to the generators first, shut 'em down!"  
Rick, Daryl, Oscar and I ran through the tombs and we finally came across the generator room.  
"Daryl, get the door!" Rick yelled.  
Oscar and Daryl kept the walkers from the door and Rick and I looked around the room for the generator.  
"How do you shut these down?" Rick asked.  
"Help 'em. I got it." Daryl told Oscar and he ran over to assist our scrambling search.  
"Right here." Oscar told us and they unscrewed the generator.  
"Ah!" I turned around, with the intention of checking on Daryl and met by a small man in a prison jumpsuit harbouring a hatchet.

Startled, he knocked me back, slamming my head against the wall. I fell to the ground and he went straight after Rick. I quickly stood up and as my eyes regained focus I saw Rick was pinned to a cabinet. I felt my pants for my gun, but it wasn't there. It had fallen to the ground, out of reach. So I did the next best thing, I kicked the guy behind his knee and he buckled a little. Rick was able to then push him away and into another set of cabinets, but the man elbowed him away.

Rick took out his gun and it was kicked out of his hands. I punched the guy but of course he punched back, harder and I fell to the ground again. Rick tried to get his gun but the guy tackled him. I heard the moans of walkers and I glanced back in fear, to see the door was wide open and Daryl was taking down the intruders before slamming the door shut again.

The guy stumbled down, slamming on top of me, pressing the hatchet viciously against my chest as I desperately fought against it. "Stay down, bitch!" he screamed in my face as the blade grew sharper against my skin, I wailed out in protest.

In the nick of time Oscar tossed a hefty fuel barrel at his head, knocking him off me. He pointed his gun in the direction of Rick and the prison guy. I crawled backwards, shivering, cautiously in the direction of Daryl.

"Shoot him! We can take back this prison." The guy screamed, "What you waiting for? Do it! It's our house! Shoot him!" Oscar moved his aim fractionally and shot the guy in the head. We all shuddered, panting, desperately attempting to compose ourselves.

He turned the gun around so the butt of the gun was held towards Rick. Rick took it and nodded at him before turning off the generator. A portion of our nightmare was over.

"You okay?" Daryl asked as he pulled me to my feet. His hands started on my upper arms before following the wound on my chest. "Shit."

I nodded and shook him off, "Fine." That was most definitely a lie. My head was thumping. The adrenaline from the fight was started to dissipate, I began to feel the blood dripping down my shirt.

"Let's go." Rick said.

I grabbed my gun from the floor and we left.

We were walking back through the corridors, and stopped when we heard footsteps. We had our weapons ready and collectively exhaled as Axel and Glenn walked out.

"George, you okay?" Glenn shuffled out of his shirt and passed it over my wound. I gripped it tightly against my chest as we walked farther and heard those moans. Two walkers were devouring a body. Rick shot them and Glenn stumbled a little too late to position himself between me and them. But it was futile, I realized who it was.

"T..." I whispered breathlessly. A combination of my injuries, the sights and the smells all caused vomit rise up in my throat. I choked it back, placing my hands on my thighs, exasperated.

Daryl bent down and picked up a scarf. Carol's head scarf. I will never forget this day, for as long as this cruel world permits me to live.


	34. Season 3: 04: Say the Word Hounded

Daryl picked me up and protected my eyes from the sight. He pulled me out of there. We stumbled out and ran back into the courtyard. The glaring sunlight blinded me as we emerged. It had been so long since we'd lost anyone…

"Hershel!" Rick bellowed from up ahead as my eyes adjusted to the harsh light.

"Georgie!" Hannah ran down the steps and bolted over to me. I ran out of Daryl's support and succumbed to the weakness; I fell to my knees and embraced her tightly. She cried into my shoulder. I held her close, stroking her hair as relief gushed through my veins.

"You didn't find them?" Beth's voice was small above us.

"We thought maybe they came back." Glenn uttered shakily.

"What about T? Carol?" Hershel questioned.

"They didn't make it." Daryl answered tersely.

"That doesn't mean the others didn't." Rick replied hastily. "We're going back. Daryl, Glenn, you go with-"

Rick was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying. We all whipped back towards the cellblock door. Carl and Maggie shakily stumbled into the sunlight. Maggie cradled a brand new baby, both drenched in blood. Where was Lori? My eyes searched feverishly around as I held on to Hannah tighter and my heart thumped ever louder in my ears. Rick staggered towards them, as if his body grew heavier and heavier, dropping his hatchet to the ground. Maggie shook through her tears and Rick shook his head as reality set in. She wasn't here. She…she wasn't with them.

"Where is she? Where is she?" Rick feebly muttered.

Rick wandered past her towards the door. Maggie shook and sobbed, "No... Rick, no!"

Rick stopped and fell apart at the look on his son's face. He wailed thunderous sobs that broke my heart into tiny tender pieces. I cried into my hand and Hershel came forward to place a stoic hand on my shoulder. Rick cried out in disbelief over and over again. I turned away as Rick ultimately collapsed to the ground with grief.

* * *

Daryl broke away and went over to Rick.

"Rick you with me? Rick?" Daryl asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Let-let me see the baby." I uttered as I stumbled to my feet and Daryl tried to bring Rick back to us.

"Georgia, you're bleeding, I'll check the baby." Hershel hobbled over.

I nodded slowly and turned my attention to Beth. Our eyes met and she instantly took my niece away by the hand. I checked the wound quickly, using a car wing mirror as an aid. The wound wouldn't need stitches; it was a superficial mess, but not deep. I roughly drenched the wound with bottled water and returned to help Hershel.

"What are we gonna feed it?" Daryl asked. 'We got anything a baby can eat?"

"The good news is she looks healthy. But she needs formula." Hershel told him. "And soon or she won't survive."

"Nope. No way. Not her." Daryl barked. "We ain't losin' anybody else. I'm goin' for a run."

"I'll back you up." I told Daryl affirmatively.

"You sure?" He asked looking me up and down.

I nodded in return, "let me grab a patch."

"Okay, think of where we're goin'." Daryl commanded.

"You two get the fence," Daryl called out to Axel and Oscar as I sprinted inside, "Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem. Glenn, Georgia, vamanos! Get the gate! Come on, we're gonna lose the light!"

I grabbed a clean covering for my chest and threw a new loose black vest on before re-joining the others outside. I'd stuffed antibiotics and antiseptic wipes in my back pockets; I could get this done en route.

"…there's too much debris on the road. A car will never get through there." Maggie informed us as I jogged over.

"I can only take one of you." Daryl climbed on to his motorcycle.

I grabbed the biggest backpack out of the car and got on behind Daryl.

* * *

We drove for about an hour before we found a place. It was an old day-care.

"Company's close. Stay tight." He told me.

I opened up the rusted old gate with a bit of brute force and we walked into the back yard. I peered through a window, scanning for walkers. It seemed to be empty so I broke the window of the door with the butt of my gun and turned the latch. I heard Daryl let out a laugh behind me.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You've been running with me too long." He laughed.

A smile crept across my face. It was most likely the amount of TV I'd consumed pre-apocalypse. But nowadays, these things didn't faze me and didn't plague me with any second thoughts. There wasn't time for second thoughts. I walked in and looked around. There were toys scattered all over the place. It didn't look touched by the undead, just the remnants of a messy playroom. The walls were decorated with colourful handprints with names on them, the names of the kids who used to go here. There was no time to process any of this, I shuffled the bag off my shoulders and looked through a cabinet. There was a decent stack of diapers and two bottles. I stuffed them all inside as I heard Daryl move out into the hallway. Once I'd looted the valuable items, I took one last glance before following him into the hallway.

He started in one direction, and I in the other. That was until we heard the rattling and together pinpointed the room it had come from. It looked like a kitchen. Daryl opened the bottom half of the door and we walked in and faced the closet, where the noise was coming from. I opened it and a possum hissed at me. I gasped as Daryl shot it.

"Hello, dinner." Daryl said from around his flashlight.

"No way in hell that's going in my bag." I told him before opening a cupboard and finding a few tubs of formula. "Jack-pot! This'll last an age!"

We went through a few more rooms, finding some clothes and blankets for the baby and soon enough we were back on the road again.

The fresh air billowing against my skin as we sped home felt incredible. I clung on to Daryl's chest tightly and rested against his back.

* * *

Dusk was setting in by the time we finally returned. Oscar opened the gate with Glenn providing sniper coverage and Axel slamming the fence with a pipe providing a clear path for us to drive on through. I got off and sprinted into the cell block before Daryl had fully stopped the bike.

"Beth, Maggie!" I called out as I threw the backpack down on a table.

Beth had already prepared warm water in a thermos. The baby was crying and I watched Carl give the baby to Daryl. She quieted down mostly, except for a few cries. She must have been starving. I hastened over and passed the bottle to Daryl.  
"Shh." He soothed the infant cradled in his arms.  
The second she started eating, Daryl looked up at me and smiled and I returned it. Something came over me. Seeing him with the baby made him even more attractive, and I didn't know that was possible. I forced myself to take my gaze away from them and flopped down on a seat in delight. Hannah settled next to me in an exhausted embrace and together we surveyed the looks of joy amongst our family.  
"She got a name yet?" Daryl asked Carl.  
"Not yet." He answered timidly, "But I was thinking maybe Sophia. Then there's Carol, too. And... Andrea. Amy. Jacqui. Patricia. Or... Lori. I don't know." The names of the women we'd all loved and subsequently lost…they stung, each and every one that fell from Carl's sullen expression stung.  
"Yeah... you like that? Huh?" Daryl asked, looking down at the baby, "Little Ass-kicker. Right? That's a good name, right?"  
We all let out a few light laughs at the nickname, "Little Ass-kicker. You like that, huh? You like that, sweetheart?"  
After the baby was fed and burped, I set out all the stuff we'd acquired for her. She was changed into a diaper and some new clothes. Carl told us that he wanted her in his room. We used a bundle of the blankets to make a little cocoon for her on his bed.  
I asked Hershel to take a quick look at my chest, and had him apply some liquid stitches just to be on the safe side. I returned to my cell later that night to find Hannah was already fast asleep on the top bunk. I quietly began slipping my vest off and winced slightly as I lowered my arms down. I had to stop prematurely as I felt a wave of pain radiate through my head and ripple throughout my chest. I gripped the side of the tiny sink fiercely and clasped my other hand delicately over the wound, wincing again and clenching my fist mere inches in front of it; holding my breath, pressing my eyes closed tight, I waited for it to pass.

"Hey…you alrigh'?" Daryl asked, sticking his head in.

I nodded before letting out a whimper and he lunged in to hold me up, just as my vision began to cloud over.

"Shhh, it's okay." He consoled me before guiding me down onto the bed. The cold, crisp pillow felt incredibly soothing against my cheek. Daryl had crouched down to feel my forehead and gently brushed stray hair off my face, "You gotta rest."

"I guess I finally let it hit me." I exhaled as I shuffled onto my back before my eyes pinged open, "Rick, he's not back yet…" I began to sit up, but was rapidly encouraged back down by some rather strong arms...  
"God sake, woman…" Daryl scoffed.

"He needs me to-"

"He needs you to heal. Please. Sleep. I've got him." Daryl drawled gently.

"She was struggling and I didn't help her, I just made her burden even heavier. First do no harm. Pfft, good job doc!"

"You're talking 'bout Lori?" Daryl drawled.

"And when she needed me most…I should've been with her, maybe I could have saved her, ya know-"

"Before I lose you, that prisoner killed Lori." Daryl's voice dropped deeper, "Ain't no two ways about it. Not Rick, not you. Maybe…maybe you could have saved her, you've a good track record of that, but a damn wall of walkers was in all of our way, it wasn't anyone's fault what happened except his. So please, just rest so I got one less thing to worry about."  
I didn't need any more encouragement and put up no further resistance, I'm sure to Daryl's delight he'd quenched my neurotic rant with logic. An interesting choice from the man, made a nice change from shouting it in my face.

"You worry about me?" I whispered coyly.

"Losing damn sleep over you" He drawled as he left the room. I succumbed to the exhaustion or perhaps the heavy-duty painkillers finally kicked in.

* * *

The next morning was spent fussing over the baby and tucking into our oatmeal, silently. Rick finally made an appearance uttering, "Everybody okay?" before tentatively stepping inside the canteen.  
"Yeah, we are." I answered the man. He was all cleaned up, donning fresh clothes and no longer sporting blood all over his face. But there was this certain emptiness to him, his words, the way he walked; he looked like a…shadow.  
"What about you?" Hershel asked the man.  
"I cleared out the boiler block." Rick stated. It wasn't the question Hershel had asked but I kept my mouth shut.  
"How many were there?" Daryl asked, furrowing his brow.  
"I don't know…a dozen, two dozen." Rick answered as he patted his son's shoulder, "I have to get back; just wanted to check on Carl." He made no mention of the baby girl.  
Glenn stood up, mimicking the distress we all felt, "Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to."  
"No, I do." Rick scorned and stalked straight over to Daryl, "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"  
"Yeah" Daryl continued to play with his breakfast, nonchalantly, "We're runnin' low on ammo, though." Was he really not gonna…stop him? Stop his suicide mission into the depths of the prison all by himself?!  
"Maggie and I were planning on making a run this afternoon." Glenn said, "Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula. And we'll need Georgia for the pharmacy up there too." I nodded as he turned to me.  
"We cleared out the generator room. Axel is there tryin' to fix it in case of emergency." Daryl informed Rick. "We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."  
"Good. Good." Was all Rick replied as he walked out the door and slammed it shut behind him. I rose to my feet as he passed me, desperate to say the right thing, really to just say anything. But our leader didn't stop, he didn't leave his input, he just left us all sat there, left us to get on with it.  
"Rick." Hershel's call to the man fell on deaf ears, "We best get started. Y'all head off now and get back in good time. I'll speak with Rick; and y'all get started on those lower levels."

* * *

Maggie, Glenn and I set off towards the nearest spot on our newly acquired hit list. A strip mall located a fair few miles west. I was looking forward to the change of scenery, as sad as that sounds. The prison felt both secure and perilous all in one, it was a crushing feeling. The journey was mostly quiet until eventually Maggie broke the tension, "He didn't mention the baby."

Glenn looked at her briefly before turning his eyes back onto the road.

"I noticed that, too." I sighed, returning my gaze to the passing greenery.

"He's…he's just been through a lot." Glenn brushed it off cautiously, "We just gotta give him a minute." He was right. The blow rippled through the entire camp but Rick was shouldering the brunt of it.

It didn't take long for us to stumble across our small strip mall. For the most part, it seemed untouched, and rather quiet. I climbed out the back seat and took a quick survey of the area behind us.

"Clear outside." I hollered from the back of the car and covered my eyes cynically as I stumbled upon the two of them kissing.

"All right, ladies, let's take a look." Glenn blushed and shuffled into a back pack.

"It's a beautiful day." Maggie exhaled awkwardly and passed her partner the bolt cutters.

"A fine day for third-wheeling" I muttered under my breath and wondered if next time writing them a list would suffice.

Glenn pierced through the chains and pulled the heavy door towards him. Birds erupted from the building, causing us all to jump back out of our skins. We all laughed eventually as we regained our breath and Glenn wandered inside. I dragged myself onto the hood of the car and sat back onto my elbows, basking in the sunlight. It felt incredible; I even took the chance to close my eyes for a few moments.

"Glenn, get that duck!" Maggie giggled.

"Are you serious?" Glenn scoffed.

"Yeah, a kid growing up in a prison could use some toys." Maggie turned to me for back up.

"Sound logic." I chuckled and sat up straight.

Glenn emerged with two red shopping baskets full of baby supplies, "we just hit the powdered formula jackpot!"

"Oh thank god." I sighed and took one out of his hands to load into the car.

"I also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards! It's a straight shot back to the prison from here. Probably make it in time for dinner." Glenn grinned.

"I like the quiet." Maggie exhaled, "Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are."

"And where is it y'all good people are calling home?" the voice erupted from behind us. It was unmistakable. A shiver shuddered down my spine and caused my heart to thump to the bottom of my stomach. We all spun to aim our guns at the intruder.

"Merle?" I uttered.

"WHOA!" Merle chuckled as his eyes widened in delight. He lowered his gun to the ground, raised his hands to the sky and staggered forward in sheer disbelief.

"Hey! Back the hell up!" Maggie barked back at him.

"Okay, okay honey!" Merle chortled in that abrasive tone I hadn't missed, "Jesus!"

"You made it." Glenn seethed.

"Can you tell me, is my brother alive?" Merle requested with a pain in his eyes that almost seemed genuine.

"Yeah" Glenn replied tersely.

"Hey, you take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings, huh?" Merle grinned and noticed our eyes had drifted to his arm, draped in a shirt…a particularly sharp blade poked out of the end, "You like that? Yeah. Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse, fixed it up myself. Pretty cool huh? You'da got yourself a lady boner in there, doc. Wall to wall supplies!"

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you." I uttered back. Our guns were all still pointing fiercely towards him. Glenn and I knew the unpredictable nature of Merle and it didn't take long for Maggie to pick up on that too.

"Hold on. Just hold up." Merle's face fell darkly.

"Whoa. Whoa." Glenn signalled him to stay back.

"Hold up here. Hold up." Merle begged, "Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. Come on now! You can trust me."

"You trust us. You stay here." Glenn ordered, punctuating his message with his gun.

Merle chuckled and his gaze fell to the ground. Less than a heartbeat later he lunged for another gun tucked in his waistband and fired at the car window to make a diversion, we scattered out of the flying glass' path and staggered around the car to find Merle had taken Maggie hostage on the ground.

"Hey, hey, hold up, buddy, hold up!" Merle barked at Glenn.

"Let go of her! LET GO OF HER!" Glenn hollered back.

"Merle, please, don't!" I wailed in unison.

"Put that gun in the trunk right now. Put it in the trunk, son! You too, doc, and don't forget that hidden knife Daryl got you to carry." Merle ordered. Glenn and I exchanged a futile glance, what else could we do? The blade was wedged right against Maggie's throat. We complied.

Merle donned a fake smile as I threw the knife into the trunk, "Well ain't that cute. There you go, now shut the trunk, we're gonna go for a little drive."

"We're not going back to our camp." Glenn seethed.

"No we're going somewhere else." Merle chuckled and turned maniacal, "Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!"

"Don't-" He whimpered at the futility of the situation and whispered, "Okay."

"Get up!" Merles barked at Maggie and thrust rope into her hands, "Tie up the good doctor there, she's a slippery one." Maggie whimpered as Merle stuck the gun into her back and she rapidly bound my wrists together.

"Nice and tight now…" Merle hissed into her ear. "Get in front, Doc." Merle climbed in the back seat with Maggie and alternated pushing his gun into the back of my head and hers, whilst barking orders at Glenn.

* * *

 **A/N: A nice chunky chapter in the build up to Woodbury! Just a teeny warning, I need to double check what I've rated this as S***'s about to hit the fan (as per usual, whenever Merle is involved) just so you're prepared for the next chapter! Also, thank you so very much for your lovely reviews, they're so nice, I really appreciate them. They put a huge smile on my face :) I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far! I'm away to watch S6E1, I'm so late to the party haha! Until next time xx**


	35. Season 3: 05: Made to Suffer

The last thing I remember was someone dragging me out of the car, a cloth drenched over my nose and mouth…my vision hazing over. Glenn screamed out, Maggie cried out. Everything descended into darkness moments afterwards. I think my last thoughts were of Glenn and Maggie, of the sweet moment they'd had earlier that I'd stumbled upon. Or maybe it was a rough estimate of the number of brain cells I'd lost from the constant head trauma. I think I remember feeling like this was it…I was dying…oh how wrong I was.

* * *

The headache radiating from behind my eyes was building, that's what I'd awakened to first. I couldn't muster the strength to open my eyes, for a multitude of reasons. The pieces were smacking together before suddenly settling on the overarching notion that my eyes were going to be greeted with something terrible. I hate being right all the time. It's terribly tiresome.  
"Morning, Sunshine." The voice cackled. My eyes accepted their fate and blurred into a hazy excuse for focus. I felt hideous, like my worst hangover times ten. My wrists were bound tightly together behind the back of a rusty chair. Nothing in the room gave any clues as to where I was, it looked like a workshop, with no windows. Maggie and Glenn were nowhere to be seen. The room was grimy and mostly empty. A tall military-looking chap was leaning over the table. He wasn't too bad on the eyes; perhaps I was having some weird super-visceral sexy dream?  
The smack across my cheek slammed my mind into the present.  
"I ain't got all day, sweetheart. Wake the fuck up." He snarled.  
I regained my composure and glared at the assailant. "Where am I?"  
"That's the least of your troubles, princess." He made his way around the table and I sat up further. "We got a little pool going on, ya see, me and the boys. Whichever whore we crack first, gets spared a go or two. The little missy holds out the longest wins the privilege of getting passed around the entire camp." He perched himself on the table in front of my chair and propped himself all up in my grill.  
"Real cute, that's supposed to scare me?" I struggled against the restraints and he merely laughed. He grabbed me by the hair and smacked my head down to the table and pressed down. I released a cry and my eyes watered out.  
"Do you hear that?" His breath misted my face. I could hear the faint sounds of someone screaming. Was that…Maggie? "That's your friend selecting the hard way. It doesn't have to be like that with us, baby. Where is your group?"  
I spat in his face and after a brief moment of disbelief, his fists collided with my ribs. Each and every one got a meeting. I coughed and spluttered as I gasped to compose my winded body.  
"Don't wanna ruin that pretty face just yet. Answer the question."  
"Don't seem fair." I coughed "You won't answer mine." I head-butted the bastard and as he was thrown backwards onto his ass, I took my chance to stand up from the chair and step through my bound hands so they were now in front of me. That was as far as my ingenious plan carried me. Mere moments after, the significantly less-injured party in this duel had regained his steading and was rather pissed off at my antics. I was beaten around the room like a ragdoll and collapsed to the ground. As I slowly began to rise up I was met with a tactical blow to the stomach and kissed the ground once more. Oh god, just kill me already. If this is it, fucking fine.  
"Fuck sake, bitch stay down." He grabbed my bound wrists and pushed them aggressively down my sides before slamming his thick thighs down on either side of them. I grimaced under his weight.  
"Let's try this again, sugar tits." He snarled.  
I met his piercing glare and spat in his face. He punched me, causing black spots to appear across my vision.  
"You want to play games? I love games."  
"Get the fuck-" Yet another smack.  
"You know, you're so attractive until you start talking." The duct tape was plastered across my mouth. I cried out behind it as he ran a serrated knife along the straps of my vest top and ripped it off me violently. My body shivered in violent retort as I lay there in my bra. I should have riled him up further to avoid this, if only I'd suffered another blow or two, this could all be over.  
"What happened? Where'd the sass disappear to? I was enjoying the chase" He chuckled to himself. "Is it here? Looks like someone's already been here…" The knife danced delicately across my shoulder before slicing along the still healing scar the prisoner had left, just deep enough to draw blood. I screamed out. "I can do this as long as I wish, princess. As long as your ass is still intact, the guys ain't too picky about the state of the front." His knife drew a new line of blood along my breast and I was full on bawling now. "It's admirable, you've made it this far. No one would blame you for giving up now." His lips met my neck and every fibre of my being was repulsed. He kissed along the blood lines. My eyes caught the glimmer of his blade, stuffed into his waistband

"Your body is amazing. I'm honoured to be the test driver." His hands descended inside my pants. I cursed the big man upstairs for not granting my prayers for a quick death, and as he bent to kiss my neck once more I head-butted his fat head with all my remaining strength.

"AWCH! FUCK ME!" He wailed out as he slumped to the side. My half dead arms rushed at the reprieve, blood gushing back into them. This was my chance. My last chance. I grasped at the blade, clutched it tightly as he writhed in pain, and cried out as I plunged it deeply into him. Everywhere. Adrenaline erupted from my very soul as I kept on plunging and plunging the dagger. I fell back on to my ass and tore the tape off my mouth and cut the bindings off my wrists, panting and sobbing. I shakily dropped the bloody dagger clanging on to the floor and stared at my blood-soaked hands. They were dripping. One glance back at my captor concluded he had been stabbed in the head, more than once; he was no longer a threat in the afterlife.

The door slammed open but I couldn't move. I was defeated.  
"I call dibs on brunettes. You know the rules, junior." The man did not skip a beat, standing comically over the captor's remains, chuckling. I realised the term "man" had been all too loosely applied. Merle turned to me.  
"Well ain't you a treat." He cackled as he squatted before me. Seriously…God? Spontaneous combustion? Sudden heart attack? Waking up from undoubtedly the shittiest dream imaginable would be the ideal ending, of course, but beggars can't really be choosers when they're beaten on the floor, bleeding and borderline naked. His eyebrows danced and he almost looked lost for words,  
"What has my baby brother been teaching you, girl?"

"Glenn? Maggie?" I coughed up some blood; the taste was horrid in my mouth. I raised my head and glared directly into his eyes. The pure effort to keep them open was overwhelming.  
"I can make this real easy for you, keep the dogs at bay, and even get Darylina back in your dainty arms." He grabbed my shoulder tightly, pushing on a bleeding cut; I winced at the sprinkle of pain. "Play ball, doc, or you're gonna wish I'd slash your throat right then and there."  
"Asian's girlfriend gave it up. We have the location." A new man emerged from the hallway and stumbled back at the sight before him. "What the hell happened here…"  
"Ah well, can't blame a fella fer tryin'" Merle rose up, "I'll hang on to that one, Doc." He picked up the bloody dagger and turned to his new companion, Martinez, requesting he check the dead body out before slamming the door behind them. I'd run out of steam, the last moments with Merle fuelled purely out of anger. I succumbed to the darkness and closed my eyes for what I feared may have been the last time. I could exhale, it was over now.

* * *

I'd hazily awoken to the sound of sporadic gunfire and shouting voices. The walls were shaking and echoing. The brief silence was ended with a bomb going off? Smoke was gushing under the door. I shakily tried to sit up with limited success.  
"Where's Georgia?!" I heard Rick holler.  
"Next door!" Maggie called out.  
The door was kicked in within seconds and Rick's eyes fell upon me. They were outpoured with pain at the sight. I heard an exhaled "Peach." and he lifted me up and took me out of hell. "Cover us!"

"She alright?!" Daryl bellowed.

"COVER US!" Rick barked back.

* * *

"Inside! Quick!" Rick hissed.  
The door was slammed behind us as Rick gently placed me down away from the windows.  
"There ain't no way out back here." Daryl re-emerged. Where the hell were we? A bakery?  
"Rick, how did you find us?" Maggie feverishly attended to Glenn.  
"How bad are you hurt?" Rick scorned as he shuffled out of his shirt, tossing it over my shoulders.  
"I'll be alright." Glenn coughed up.  
Rick lowered down to my level and kept me steady as my vision began to cloud over. "George!"  
I shook my head as he steadied me. "Okay. I'm dandy."  
"Where's that woman?" Maggie said apprehensively as she took over from Rick and guided my arms through the sleeves of Rick's shirt.  
"She was right behind us." Rick peered out the window cautiously.  
"Maybe she was spotted." Oscar piped in.  
"Want me to look for her?" Daryl stepped forward.  
"No. We gotta get them outta here." Rick directed "She's on her own."  
"Daryl. Merle." I coughed and looked over at Glenn and Maggie.  
Glenn's heavy eyes rose up to meet an edgy Daryl, "This was Merle. It was. He did this."  
"You saw him?" he lowered his crossbow and drew closer to us.  
"Face to face. He threw a Walker at me. He was gonna execute us. Keep Georgia as a pet." Glenn groaned.  
"My brother's this Governor?" Daryl asked sheepishly.  
"No, he's somebody else." Maggie scorned "Your brother's his lieutenant or something."  
"Does he know I'm still with ya?" Daryl whined.  
"He does now." Glenn sighed painfully "Rick, I'm sorry, we told him where the prison was, we couldn't hold out."  
"Don't. No need to apologise." Rick slapped Glenn's leg and darted back over to the window.  
"They're gonna be looking for us." I dragged myself up by the arm of a sofa.  
"We have to get back. Can you walk? We got a car parked back." Rick rushed over to my side.  
"If Merle's around, I need to see him." Daryl started. I exhaled harshly, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  
"Not now, we're in hostile territory." Rick dismissed.  
"He's my brother, I-"  
"Look what he did. We gotta-"  
"Maybe I can talk to him, maybe I can work something out."  
"You are not thinking straight." Rick seethed, "No matter what they say, they are hurt and can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers or this Governor catches up, I need you. Are you with me?"  
"Yeah." Daryl uttered.  
"On three, stay tight!"  
A smoke grenade rattled and clanged across the street before erupting into a dense cloud.  
"GO!" Rick barked through it.  
Gunfire erupted from the walls as we pelted through.  
"Behind you!" Daryl hollered.  
"Go! Get cover! Get there!" Rick called out, "Go, go, go!"  
"How many?" Rick barked from behind our cover.  
"I didn't see!" Oscar shouted back.  
"It don't matter, there's gonna be more of them, we need to move!" Daryl barked.  
"Any grenades left?" Rick called.  
"Uh huh." Daryl growled.  
"Get 'em ready, we gotta gun it to the wall." Rick ordered.  
"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna lay down some cover fire." Daryl instructed.  
"No. We've gotta stick together!" Maggie cried.  
"It's too hairy. I'll be right behind ya." Daryl insisted. There was no time for debates.  
"Ready!" Rick called out.  
"Keep moving!" Oscar supported me and called back to the others.  
"Glenn!" Maggie cried.  
"Get her over the wall!" Rick shouted as Oscar pushed me over the wall. As Oscar helped Glenn over the wall he was shot down and slumped to the ground.  
"RICK!" Maggie pulled me to my feet and shot the now dead Oscar in the head.  
"Daryl!" Rick screamed out from the other side of the wall.

"GO!" I heard Daryl holler back at him. Go? We…we can't leave him here!

* * *

Rick appeared moments later at our feet and ushered us away into the bushes. We'd retrieved a stowed away gun bag and bided our time. There was no sign of Daryl emerging. My heart ached with every second that ticked by. What if he'd met a similar fate to Oscar? What if he was lying in there…  
"Get down! Come on, Daryl…" Rick uttered.  
A rustle behind us caused us all to jump out of our skins. A slender dark-skinned woman emerged from under the derailed train with blood splattered across her face.  
"Where the hell were you? Put your hands up!" Rick cocked his gun "Turn around, turn around!" He disarmed her katana and seared his eyes into her, "Get what you came for?"  
"Where are the rest of your people?" she uttered coolly.  
"They got Oscar." Glenn's voice cracked in pain.  
"Daryl's missing." I uttered to the stranger.

"You didn't see him?" Maggie whimpered.

"If anything happens to him-" Rick hissed.  
"I brought you here to save them." The woman uttered.  
"Thanks for the help." Rick seethed.  
"You'll need help to get them back to the prison or to go back in there for Daryl. Either way, you need me." The woman bargained with Rick.


	36. Season 3: 06: The Suicide King

We snuck up to the makeshift arena. A dense crowd encircled Merle and Daryl, a maniacal leader was riling up the spectators, all were chanting, "Kill them! KILL THEM!"  
"I asked you where your loyalties lie. You said here. Prove it. Prove it to us all." The man I presumed to be the Governor announced, "Brother against Brother. Winner goes free. Fight to the death!"  
"Philip please don't do this!" I watched Andrea beg from the side-lines.  
"Ya'll know me! I'm gonna do what I gotta do to prove-" Merle sucker-punched his brother, "That my loyalty-" he kicked him in the gut, "Is to this town!" The crowd cheered Merle's antics on.  
Rick grabbed my arm as I rose up an inch, "WAIT." He was seriously asking me to watch Daryl get beaten to a pulp?

Merle dragged up Daryl, pulled him out of a Walkers grasp and they were back to back, fending off zombies. We watched, horrified, I was restless. I can't. Rick muttered once more to wait for it.  
"Rick. Maggie. The lights" I motioned towards the towering floodlights. We needed every discernible advantage we could get. On Rick's mark, Maggie rose from her cover and opened fire. Sparks showered the arena as I shot out the light source. The crowd began to panic and disperse. Rick tossed in our last smoke grenade. The three of us unleashed our firepower, aiming for the guards who were introducing the walkers to the fight. Those walkers were now free and on the loose. Daryl and Merle had their clear window amongst the chaos.  
We sprinted to the boundary of Woodbury, following Merle's lead.  
"They're all at the arena. This way!" Merle instructed.  
"You are not going anywhere with us!" Rick snapped.  
"You really wanna do this now? We can do this later!" Merle clawed the fence open with his upgraded limb.  
"Rick! C'mon! We gotta go!" Daryl nudged him.  
A potent mixture of vomit and fear pressed me on. I almost had to physically push Maggie through the gap.  
"Little help would be nice!" Merle snarled as he smashed in a walkers face, "We ain't got time for this!"  
Maggie shot me a desperate look.  
"C'mon! Let's go!" Daryl hollered. Our eyes connected fleetingly. I looked to Rick for reassurance. He exhaled sharply and grabbed my hand to follow.

* * *

We were steadily approaching the meeting point as the sun was beginning to rise. A brand new day seemed fitting for our brand new shit storm. I hadn't made eye contact with Daryl the entire journey. I had the most unsettling sinking feeling right in the pit of my stomach. I think I played out what happened next on the way over there, I honestly think I saw this coming, I just didn't want to believe it.  
"Glenn!" Maggie ran ahead.  
I heard Glenn's pained cry in reply. "Maggie?!"  
As he ran towards us I clearly saw his face descend from relief, to disbelief, to disgust, to pure rage.  
"Now Glenn, we got a problem here, I need you to back up-" Rick began. It was futile. The group descended into hysteria.  
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!"  
"Calm down!"  
"Hey! STOP!"  
Michonne entered the clearing "HE TRIED TO KILL ME!"  
Everyone had their weapon of choice raised. The sheer speed of the unsheathing had made me stumble back a step. My hands, weapon-free raised in next to Maggie.  
"Back up!"  
"Get that thing outta my face!" Daryl spat at Glenn.  
"LOOK WHAT HE DID! If it wasn't for him Maggie could have- He beat the shit outta me!" Glenn did not lower his gun an inch. It was flickering trying to get around Daryl.  
"He helped us get out back there!" Daryl barked.  
"After he beat the shit outta you." Rick seethed.  
"Hey man! We both got in some good licks." Merle drawled out with a half-smirk plastered over his face.  
"Jackass!" Daryl scoffed.  
"Shut up!" Merle spat.  
"ENOUGH!" Rick rumbled. "Put that down!"  
Merle chuckled "Haha! Looks like you gone native brother!"  
"No more than you hangin' out with that psycho back there!" Daryl swayed in Merle's face.  
"Oh yeah, man. He's a charmer, I'll tell ya that! Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea big time baby!" Merle made a "sexual" noise which made my stomach flip in disgust.  
"Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn's arm fell further.  
"Right next to the Governor" Daryl sighed.  
"I told you to drop that!" Rick demanded as Michonne moved forwards.  
We learnt of Michonne's connection to Andrea and the hell they went through these past months through Merle's incredible gifted story-telling.  
"Hey, shut up bro!"  
"Snagged them out the woods, this close to dying."  
"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asked.  
"Snug as two bugs. So whatcha gonna do now Sheriff? Huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, cowards, thugs, man." Merle chortled. Rick demanded he shut up.  
Merle grunted "Ho, ho, look at this! Pathetic! All these guns and no bullets in me! YA BUNCH OF PUSSIES!"  
As Daryl shouted at his brother to shut the hell up, I butted Merle in the back of the head with my gun. He fell to the ground like a sack of creepy, disgusting potatoes. I couldn't tell you where that sudden wave of energy came from; something about Merle seemed to bring it out in all of us. No matter how battered and close to checking out you were, there was always energy to kick Merle's ass.  
"Thank you." Rick muttered as I sauntered away from them, tapping Glenn's arm lightly to turn. Together we joined with Maggie and headed back to the road.

* * *

Rick, Daryl, Maggie and Glenn were deciding upon Merle's fate. I was tending to Michonne's wounds by the car. I could only hear snippets of dialogue. Daryl was pleading that Merle could aid against the Governor's attack. He knew how he thought.

Maggie retorted with reason, "He pointed a gun to our heads!"  
Glenn shook, from honest disbelief as well as his injuries, "We can't have him sleeping in the same block as Beth and Carol?"

"We leave Merle for dead but you bring the Last Samurai home?" Daryl pointed our way.  
Michonne scoffed and regretted it instantly as she clenched in pain.  
I heard Daryl weakly argue that Merle was blood.  
Glenn cried out. "Merle is your blood! My blood is standing right here!" He pointed my way. "And there! And back at the prison. That's my family."  
I heard Rick state the facts "And you're part of that family. He is not."  
I stopped working on Michonne and raised my head to listen more intently. Daryl's fight was descending. The rest of the group's actions were getting more concerned. I started to walk over to the group. As I heard him mutter some weak-ass reminiscence regarding fending for each other, he began to stroll off. Maggie and Glenn whined "Daryl?!" in unison.  
"Daryl, don't do this!" Rick stormed after him and I brushed right past Rick.  
"Daryl, we started something last night, you realise that." I uttered, "We need you."

He froze for a second at the addition of my input but continued on to the car bonnet, rummaging for his stuff. "I need you." I uttered quieter, my voice shaking, unable to hold steady at what was unravelling before me.  
"Look. No him. No me." He looked directly at Rick. The coward couldn't look me in the eye. "Take care of yourself. Take care of little Ass-Kicker and Carl. He's one tough kid." He walked on towards Merle.  
Rick shot me a helpless, defeated look. No! I hurried the few steps to catch up with him and gently brushed his arm to face me. He put up no resistance and turned with only strong intent in his eyes.  
"I won't ask you to leave Hannah. Don't ask me to leave him." Each word packed a punch. I'm a woman of logic and science. It hurt like hell to hear. Anger skipped right passed the hurt and brewed up inside of me.

"It's not the fucking same." I seethed and ripped Rick's oversized shirt open, exposing the still bleeding wounds. He'd winced; I wondered momentarily whether he'd winced harder at the curse word or the irrefutable knowledge of what I'd been through.  
"Did he?" was all he uttered.  
"It matters? No, he just introduced me to his buddy. So that makes it all okay. I'm fine, by the way, heavy weighty obvious use of sarcasm." I shook through my water-lined eyes, determined to keep my voice strong for our final encounter.  
So, against every fibre of my being, I suppressed what remained of the yearning to ask him to stay. My hands fell to my ribs as I felt faint. I looked at the ground, then at the sky briefly and then pained "No! I'm the one walking away. That matters." I stormed away as intensely as my jelly legs permitted.  
"We patch you up and then you are gone." Rick slammed the trunk shut and took out his frustration on Michonne.

* * *

Rick furiously drove us back until a fallen tree and rotting truck impeded our progress. We all clambered out of the Hyundai to tend to the scene.

"Hit the brakes." Rick requested. A zombie launched itself out of the driver's seat. Glenn hurled the body to the ground and proceeded to pound it to smithereens.  
After Glenn stomped the zombie's head into mush he turned to Rick. "You didn't kill him."  
"That's not why we went back." Rick drawled.  
"No, that's right, you went back for Daryl! And now he's gone again. And the Governor is still alive!" Glenn hissed.  
"Daryl was the priority!" Rick uttered back.  
"I should have been there with you!" Glenn raised a hand to his forehead and closed his eyes in rage.  
"You were in no condition-" Rick began to calmly console him.  
"But my girlfriend was?!" Glenn burst hysterically.  
"Glenn, this isn't about us." Maggie stepped forward.  
"I should have been there!" Glenn seethed.  
"Hey! Hey! You didn't come back with us because you could barely walk!" Rick raised his hand to calm Glenn.  
"What about her?! Do you know what he did to her?!" Glenn screamed in Rick's face.  
Maggie was crying in the background "What about me?! GLENN! Leave it alone!"  
"DO YOU KNOW!" Glenn bellowed.  
"LET'S GO!" I raised her voice above the fray.  
The men exhaled and stood taken aback. Yes, the quiet dorky doctor raised her voice. I decided to excuse myself on this occasion. Tensions were running high. Everyone simmered over the edge.  
"After all that effort…all the risk we took. Daryl just takes off with Merle."  
"He had his reasons." I sighed, but didn't attach any feeling to the words.  
"Just keep telling yourself that. I expected that from him, not you of all people! We're up to our necks in deep shit!" Glenn sneered and spat at Rick.  
"You want me to turn the car around? Beg him to come back? Throw out the welcome mat for Merle?" Rick was cautiously close to Glenn "This is the hand we've been dealt!"  
Maggie managed to end the conversation. Well, calling it a conversation seems generous, the men taking out their frustrations on each other. Glenn stormed off back to our car and the three of us began pushing the truck out of our way. I was trying so hard to block out our last look at each other. But that's what it was. It was the last time we would look at each other. Glenn articulating these facts made my heart sink to a whole new level.

* * *

I couldn't let my guard down and spiral into the depths. Choices had been made. We now had to live with those choices. As Rick had said, we had to accept these cards. I felt the weight of this entire godforsaken world lift off my chest when I heard Hannah's voice.  
"Georgie?" Hannah ran towards me.  
She edged me closer to my breaking point but I remained composed. Every time my eyes fell upon her, my heart felt a little lighter. I fell to my knees as she rugby-tackled me, and fought through the pain to pick her up. I was so happy in that moment. I held her tightly.

"You're hurt." She said softly.

"No it's okay, baby girl. Just scratches. I'm okay." I smiled back and lowered her gently down.  
Beth was rocking Judith, back and forth in her arms. The baby was sleeping peacefully. She smiled and looked around for Daryl but he was nowhere to be seen, "Where's Daryl?"  
"We found Merle, his brother."  
"Is he okay?" She was startled, taking a few seconds to process the information.  
"They're fine, both of them. But Daryl... they left."  
"What." She stopped rocking the baby, "He wouldn't... No."  
I squeezed her hand as she sighed, "I'm sorry."  
"Take your sister inside." I heard Hershel instruct and turn to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, plenty o' stitchin' practice for you, you need it..." He embraced me as I sassed him. Maggie took Hannah by the hand and helped me head inside leaving Rick and Hershel alone outside.

Beth and I exchanged a tired look as we heard the door slam open and close, signalling their return. They came straight into the cell block, not even looking at our new guests. Rick walked over to us and took Judith, "She kind of has Lori's eyes. Don't you think?" Beth smiled.  
Rick looked at Judith and she started crying and he held her to his chest.  
Beth took her back for her nap and I lead Hannah back to our cell block. Whatever was about to happen, I wanted her far away from it. Perhaps it was my deflated tone or battered appearance but she put up no fight when I requested she stick to her room for the time being.

I took it upon myself to check on Michonne as Hershel looked over Glenn and Maggie's injuries.

"She's out like a light; must've been days since she's slept." I informed Rick who'd crept up behind me. I could hear his grimace without needing to turn. Upon facing him, he had his head in his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. I uttered, "You look pretty beat yourself."

"That's rich. Why haven't you been looked at yet?" His hands felt hot on my cheek as he turned my face slightly to assess the bruise, but before I could reply he drawled flatly "How long before she can travel?"

"I'll have to keep an eye on her; pretty sure she has a concussion, a couple of days, maybe, 'til she's up." I was lead out of the cell.  
Rick slammed the cell door behind me and locked it.

"Whenever Tomas was going off on one, Oscar would look out for me, he was my friend." Axel was confiding in Carol.

"He went out fighting." Rick offered up in consolation but the delivery felt empty.

"So, what now? Do you think the Governor will retaliate?" Beth appeared down the stairs.

"Yes." I stated flatly.

"Let him try." Glenn seethed.

"He's got a whole town. We're outnumbered and outgunned." Carol uttered.

"We could use some reinforcements." Hershel suggested.  
Hershel was heading towards me but paused at Rick's abrupt turn to exit.  
"Go." I whispered. I knew Rick Grimes and I needed Hershel to keep any remnants of the man I'd grown up with from disappearing.  
Hershel informed me later about what had gone down as he cleaned up my wounds. The guests informed us the fire damage to the administrative part of the prison was their entry point. The walls were down there. Hershel argued we could use the reinforcements; we were outnumbered and outgunned against an entire town. We needed to start trusting people again. They had lost a woman getting through the walkers. Carl had led them here. Rick was having none of it; he kept repeating the incident with Tomas and Andrew. I had heard the shouts. I had held Hannah close as Rick's voice had bellowed. Hershel also told me something else Rick had shared with him, that day we left for our fateful run. Rick had professed to receiving a phone call from a woman insisting she could help us, take us away to a safe place...Hershel believed it was a hallucination involving Lori… I sighed and subsequently winced as he stitched my chest. Rick was struggling.

"Your days in the passenger seat are over." Hershel whispered, "Glenn is too hot-headed and emotional right now, Daryl is gone, you have to step up."

I merely nodded at the man, "You're right…but I still have faith in Rick coming back from this."

"Be that as it may; we need you for the interim."  
I wandered into my cell after Hershel had worked his magic and sat on the bed, lifelessly. I finally had a moment to reflect on my new reality. Everything came crashing down. I sobbed into my hand. I was never going to see him again.


	37. Season 3: 07: Home

The sun was finally rising; delicate flecks of light were seeping through the bars. I rolled over and accepted defeat. No more sleep for me today. These are the cards we have been dealt. My thoughts flashed back to Shane and I standing in that kitchen, before any of this, he'd uttered those very words to me. As my mind travelled through the trail of events that had lead us here my heart thundered inside my chest. I shook my head and declared from the moment my feet touched the floor, I was done. These damn cards…it was time to deal with them.

Carol walked into the kitchen, startling me.  
"Good morning, I was about to make a start on breakfast." She spoke in a hushed tone.  
"I didn't sleep very well. I couldn't stay in bed any longer." I told her.  
Carol placed a caring hand on my arm, "I know how much he meant to you. And I know it hurts that he left. Daryl has his code; this world needs men like that."

"We need men like that. After everything we've done, and been through, you'd think there was some kind of obligation here." I articulated my angst, eyes falling to the floor.

"I guess if your brother returns, if you get a second chance-"

"No. In a heartbeat, no." I exhaled, "People don't change, fundamentally. You're always who you are, and this world drags the worst out of you. Family is earned now."

"Honestly, I feel the same way. I'm here if you need anything, okay?"  
I nodded, "Thanks, Carol. Are you feeling better?"  
She nodded and I helped her make the breakfast.

* * *

After we were done with breakfast everyone congregated together at the entrance of the cell block.

Glenn and Carl hastily drew a map of the prison on the floor with stumps of chalk.  
"Now, you said you found Tyreese's group here?" Glenn asked, pointing to a spot on the map.  
"Well, yeah." Carl replied with a look of concern.  
"We secured this." Glenn stated.  
"He thought he came through here." Carl traced a line over the map.  
"Means there's another breach. Okay. The whole front of the prison is not secure. If walkers just strolled in, then it'll be cake for a group of men." Glenn said.  
"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack?" Beth asked tentatively. "Maybe you scared him off."  
"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies." Michonne replied, "He's coming."  
"We should hit him now." Glenn perked up.  
"What?" Beth asked, panicked.

"He won't be expecting it." Glenn said. "We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."  
"We're not assassins." Carol responded tersely.  
Glenn walked over to Michonne, "You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight. I'll do it myself."  
Michonne nodded and Glenn backed up, "Okay."

I turned to face Hershel, desperately, and exhaled in relief that he was already making his way towards Glenn.  
"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you and Maggie were almost executed." Hershel said.  
"You can't stop me." Glenn replied matter-of-factly.  
"Rick would never allow this." Hershel responded.  
"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?" Glenn was short and cutting with his words, he held so much anger in his tone  
"Think this through clearly. T-Dog lost his life here; Lori too, the men that were here. It isn't worth anymore killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now." Hershel said.  
"And go where?" Glenn scoffed.  
"We lived on the road all winter." Hershel answered.  
"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours." Glenn scorned.  
"We can't stay here." Hershel argued.  
"We can't run." Glenn replied.

"Glenn's right." I spoke over them, "No, not about returning Woodbury, about holding the fort. We're not ready for the road. We need to know where we stand, what the state of the tombs is."  
Maggie went back into the cell block and Glenn turned to look at all of us, "All right. We'll stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand. Carl, you and I will go down into the tombs to figure out where the breach is."  
"You got it." Carl nodded.  
"You'll need some help." Michonne said.  
"No, in case anything happens, I need you out here." Glenn said before looking at us, "Who's on watch?" None of us answered and he started walking away, "Damn it."

"You really think this is for the best?" Hershel took me aside once the rest of the group had dispersed.

"We're weak either way. It's a tough call to make. We've lost Daryl and Rick in the space of a heartbeat. We lost life to get here, it can't be for nothing. Gotta be brave." I watched Glenn and Carl disappear down the end of the hall.

"Glenn is not thinking clearly. He has one thing on his mind, vengeance. Do I need to worry about you too?" he sighed cautiously.

I made deliberate eye contact with the old man and uttered a truthful, "No."

* * *

Carl and Glenn emerged from the tombs a while later, sweaty and covered in blood, "The tombs outside the boiler room are overrun again."  
"That whole section had been cleared." Beth exclaimed as she locked the door behind them.  
"It's a steady stream of walkers." Carl said, catching his breath.  
"We're wasting time." Hershel commented. "The Governor is supposedly on the way and we're stuck in here with walkers."  
"Trapped between a rock and a hard place."  
"For the last time, running is not an option." Glenn barked.  
"Glenn, if the tombs have filled up again…it may just be a matter of time before they push in here." I reasoned with him. What use were walls that could collapse at any moment?  
"Or until some fence gives away." Carol added.

"You were on my side." Glenn uttered to me.

"Ain't about sides." I sighed, exasperated, "It's making sure this place is still worth it."  
"What if one of them herds is passing through? Or settled?" Axel questioned.  
"Can't handle that with just the few of us." Carol replied anxiously.  
"Okay. All right, we need to scout the far side of the prison. Find out what's going on." Glenn said.  
"You're going out there?" Hershel asked.  
"Take a car and make it quick." Glenn replied.  
"I'll drive." Axel offered.  
"No, you stay here. Help with the fortifications. I'll take Maggie." Glenn responded.  
"You sure she's up to that?" Hershel questioned.

Glenn didn't answer and went into the cell block to talk to her.

* * *

"We're gonna need to make a run soon." I told Beth as she walked up to me, "We're running low on formula and she's growing outta those clothes so fast. Then of course diapers; lots and lots of diapers."  
"I don't know when we'll get another chance." Beth replied shakily. I took the chance, stood next to her outside to survey the grounds. Walkers building up once again, pushing down from all angles; a beautiful reminder of the extent we were trapped here.

"Maybe I could head out, take Carol or the new guy. I don't know. Do we even have time?"

"Take me!" Beth perked up and before I could say anything she began her obviously well-thought-out proposal "I know I'm probably the least experienced of us all, but that's exactly why you should! I need to be prepared for what lies ahead, especially now more than ever and I want to really-"

"Whoa. Cool yer jets. Let's see what happens. If it's okay with your dad, we can revisit that crèche."

"Thank you, Georgia." Beth beamed.  
I looked down at Judith, snuggled in Beth's arms, who yawned, "I think someone needs a nap."

As soon as the words fell from my lips I heard the gunshot. Then I heard the scream. I turned around to see Axel on the ground. Carol was screaming a few steps away from him.  
Judith started crying and I stumbled back.  
What the hell?!  
"Get inside!" I screamed at Beth, then in Hannah's direction. The bullets started flying in a hailstorm fashion; they were trapped behind the picnic tables.  
I ran towards a tower and hid behind it. Carol was lying behind Axel's dead body, utilising it as a shield. I took out my gun and aimed for the guard tower that one of the assailants had hijacked. As my sight fixed on the bastard I felt a steaming hot searing pain graze my shoulder. I repelled back behind the cover. The shoulder of my shirt was torn, but no contact; I shrieked and counted my blessings. I gathered my breath and focused. There was no way I could make that shot from here with a handgun. Maggie hissed at me and tossed over a rifle. Now this was more like it.

She then threw one to Carol. I sidled round to a more advantageous spot and lined up my target and shot him down. He fell from the tower like a rag doll. This allowed Carol to shuffle over to my hiding spot. She slammed her back against the wall, panting. She had Axel's blood on her cheek but was otherwise unscathed. The warfare had gradually subsided and ceased full stop. An eerie silence dusted over the prison. I squeezed her hand and we both peered round to see a truck was approaching. It crashed through the fence.  
"Oh, shit!" What the hell were they doing? What is this?!  
Then, the back of the truck burst open and walkers filed out.  
"Alright, Beth! Get the hell in the cell block!" Maggie yelled.  
"Everything's gonna be alright!" I shouted at Hannah as Beth dragged the girls inside.  
Once we saw the cars skidding away, Carol helped me up and we ran towards the field. Maggie yanked the gate open and we proceeded to open fire on the sea of walkers stumbling amongst us.  
"Focus on the fence! Hershel's down there!" I hollered through the crossfire. How the hell had so many been crammed in there? I caught a glimpse of Michonne slicing her way from around the overturned bus. She was making lightning progress, I finally began to entertain the thought we might be okay. I saw Glenn's truck skid through the gap the walker-bus had torn down, I caught his eye, motioned towards the fence and without skipping a beat he careered towards Hershel's location. We provided ample cover as he flopped into the back of the truck and onwards to safety.

I heard the faint call out from Rick, took a moment to pinpoint him, pinned up against the outside fence. "SHIT." Knife out, I hacked my way towards him but he was a fair distance away. Just as I made up some ground I saw the walkers fall down, someone was aiding him from the outside, slamming a pole into walker's brain, the other carried a…crossbow.  
Michonne erupted from the back of Glenn's truck roaring. "Georgia! Fall back!"

She covered my back as we both clambered in; everyone else had retreated to the internal courtyard area already. We'd dispatched the majority of the walkers but with that fence mown down, their numbers would only multiply, it was futile.

I could hear Judith quite clearly, crying her eyes out. Carl picked her up out of Beth's arms and started bouncing her, trying to get her to calm down.  
"I'm sorry about Axel." I uttered to Carol.  
She nodded before leaving for her cell.  
"Hannah…let's go." I called.  
I turned and noticed she was shaking. "Hey, Nana. Come here baby girl." I embraced her. "It's okay. We're all here."


	38. Season 3: 08: I Ain't a Judas

I sat on the steps beside Maggie as Rick rummaged about and fiddled with various guns. The entire group had now assembled and had caught their breath. I made the rounds, dusting everyone off, cleaning them up; luckily no one was seriously injured.  
"We're not leaving." Rick scorned.  
"We can't stay here." Hershel made his way towards Rick.  
"What if there's another sniper?" Maggie asked, "A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds."  
"We can't even go outside." Beth said.  
"Not in the daylight." Carol added.  
"Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn said.  
"No, better to live like rats." Merle said from outside the block.  
"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him.  
"Yeah, we should've slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day." Merle answered, "But we lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."  
"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl replied.  
"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to." Merle said.  
"Let's put him in another cell block." Maggie told Rick.  
"No. He's got a point." Daryl defended his brother.  
"This is all you. You started this." Maggie spat at Merle.  
"What's the difference whose fault it is? What do we do now?" I shot up and placed myself between them to grab her attention away as she aggressively wiped her hands on her rag.  
"I say we should leave." Hershel said. "Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here."  
Rick started walking away from Hershel. I barked in a tone I didn't recognise as my own, "Get back here!"  
Rick stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face me, I did not exercise discretion, "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the damn time. This ain't a democracy? Ring any bells? You gotta own up to that."

"I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something." Hershel added in a slightly calmer tone.

"Please, brother." I uttered in defeat as Rick left the room. Okay, tough love wasn't perhaps the best choice there.

"He shouldn't be leader." Carl piped up to me as his father left. As I turned to face the boy he continued. "Daryl's back now. You or Hershel should lead, Georgia. He deserves a break." He left me standing there clutching my shoulder, speechless, from the mouths of babes.

* * *

I heard Daryl and Glenn arguing and watched as Daryl ascended the stairs and out of the situation. I heard Rick mutter something to Glenn to which he replied,

"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you!" he turned to face me and dipped his head sheepishly, unaware I'd been listening.

"Merle has military experience. He may be erratic but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother." Hershel chipped in as I bypassed the group to tend to my medical store cupboard. I honestly hadn't thought about my brother before this morning, before the pact I'd made with myself to move on. I dismissed these thoughts with the further justification that current matters were far more pressing than a trip down memory lane. Did he even deserve to be remembered was what I struggled with? Was simply remembering the protective brother from my childhood allowed? The man he'd turned into was after all a stranger in my eyes…I pushed the emotions further down and found Daryl leant against the entrance to my store cupboard. I vehemently continued past him and began to sort through the medical supplies, arranging first aid kits for each vehicle.  
"Do you need anything?" He rasped.  
"Got your medical degree during your absence? Didn't realise you were gone that long." I stuffed each item down with unnecessary force; the force purely a distraction from my shaking hands.  
Daryl exhaled lightly, "Okay." I heard him turn to leave.  
"Daryl." I stopped what I was doing but didn't face him. I heard him pensively approach. I could picture his brooding face. I closed my eyes to stifle the tears and felt his rough hand gently brush my arm, coercing me to face him. I jumped and shuddered instantly. His eyes were glistening, feverishly looking to connect with mine.

I wasn't mad at him; I'd begun to think I just about understood. I was just hurt. If he hadn't come back, I don't know what I would've done. That attack may have gone a different way; would Rick even still be standing? And Hershel? He hadn't just left me. He'd left Rick, Carol, Glenn, Hannah, Hershel, Maggie, Carl, and Beth. He'd left us for his sorry excuse of a brother. His hand gently hovered over my bandaged chest and I could've sworn I saw his eyes glint, they were undeniably sunken.  
"What happened back there?" his voice had grown gentler.

I felt my lips quiver as I tried incredibly desperately to hold it together. I shook my head once and he punched the wall behind him. I jumped at the force of his unexpected blow. He paced the tiny space and ran his hands through his hair, exhaling sharply. I caught a fleeting glance of his face, his eyes were red.

"You flinched." He rasped painfully, "when I touched you. Said it all."

I pulled my arms across my body protectively embracing myself.

He pushed himself up from the wall and wandered towards me, "Should've fought harder to stay. I shouldn't have left."  
I watched my hand touch his chest once he'd gotten close enough, his skin felt hot. I could feel his heart beating exuberantly beneath my palm. I was making the pathways desperately trying to convince myself that this was indeed real and not some terribly cruel dream. He took my hand from his chest and brought it to his face, answering my wild mind. I uttered, "wouldn't have changed it."

He drawled, "If anything had happened to you-"

I slipped my hand out of his, "Something did happen to me, Daryl. Not getting killed doesn't equal A-Okay. Someone beat me, had his hands all over me, made me wish he would just kill me already."

Daryl's gaze dropped to the floor in pain.

"Whilst you're wandering the damn woods with Merle, and I'm picking up Rick's slack here, preparing for a damn war? D'ya know what I'm actually doing? I'm thinking' 'bout the first time we met on that highway. I'm thinking how stupid I felt wondering if catching your eye meant anything. I'm thinking 'bout the first time we kissed, side note, every other time too, the taste of bourbon, your hands all up in my hair and running all over me, feeling safe for that one night. I'm thinking about always feeling safe when you're here…and hey, now I know…I can't rely on Daryl Dixon to save me every time. So there's that. Thanks for the reality check." I uttered.

"You can." He looked up, "And I will. I came back!"

"But, I don't need you to." I scorned back, "Everything we've done, everything we've been through, it doesn't mean a damn thing."

"It's all there is!" He resumed position up in my grill, "It means everything."  
I looked up and saw our lips were about to meet. We were disrupted by Carl announcing to the cell block that Andrea was here. I ducked out of his way.

"You're not that guy from the highway anymore. Look at how far you've come. Sure, he's your brother, he's that same guy from before but you're not his." Were my final words as Daryl watched me leave with a concerned look and grabbed his crossbow before following the group to meet Andrea.

* * *

"Hershel, my god." Andrea's eyes widened at the sight of his missing leg. "I can't believe this. Where's Shane?"  
None of us answered her, we just looked at each other or the ground and she got the message loud and clear, "Oh, Georgia…and Lori?"  
"She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel answered, "Neither did T-Dog."  
"I'm so sorry." Andrea uttered painfully. We spared her a moment of silence to digest the news. Hearing all of your former friends had perished in one dose would be hard to swallow, though no harder than actually living through it. She looked down to Carl with pained eyes, "Carl. Rick, I-. You all live here?"  
"Here and the cell block." Glenn answered.  
"There?" Andrea asked, pointing at the doorway. "Well, can I go in?"  
"I won't allow that." Rick replied, positioning himself firmly in her way.  
"I'm not an enemy, Rick." Andrea scoffed. I felt momentarily conflicted in this moment, momentarily. I thought back to Amy, my first true friend in this horrible new world. Given her gusto and penchant for speaking the inconvenient truth, I think she'd be standing on this side.  
"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up." Rick said.  
"He said you fired first." Andrea replied naively.  
"Well, he's lying." Rick responded.  
"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel said.  
"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl added.  
"I didn't know anything about that." Andrea told him genuinely. "As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out." She looked over towards Glenn and Maggie.  
"That was days ago." Glenn stated, unimpressed.  
"I told you, I came as soon as I could." Andrea turned to Michonne, "What have you told them?"  
"Nothing." She answered tersely.  
"I don't get it." Andrea whined, "I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?"  
"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us." Glenn replied plainly.  
"With his finger on the trigger." Andrea said, pointing to Merle. "Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you? Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Phillip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."  
"Philip?" I raised an eyebrow.  
"There's nothing to work out." Rick replied, "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."  
"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury for all of you." Andrea responded.  
Merle chuckled, "You know better than that."  
"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate? Did he say that?" Hershel questioned.  
"No." Andrea sighed.  
"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked.  
"He is gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack." Andrea answered.  
"I'll tell you what. Next time you see Phillip you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl scorned.  
"We've taken too much shit for too long." Glenn told Andrea, "He wants a war? He's got one."  
"Rick. If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what will happen. He has a whole town." Andrea looked at all of us, "Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."  
"You want to make this right, get us inside." Rick told her.  
"No." she stated fiercely.  
"Then we got nothing to talk about." Rick shut her down, walking towards the cell block.  
"There are innocent people." Andrea called after him.

* * *

Andrea and Michonne went out into the courtyard to speak in private. After catching up with those who wished to, Rick got a car to give to Andrea so she could get back to Woodbury.  
"Can you spare it?" Andrea asked Rick when he got out of the car.  
"Yeah" He answered.  
Andrea looked at all of us, giving us silent goodbyes, "Well, take care."  
"Andrea." Rick said before handing her gun over, "Be careful."  
"You too" She replied before starting the car and driving away from the prison. None of what transpired sat well with me. I couldn't help but think back to our Atlanta camp, everything that had transpired since, everyone we'd lost along the way. But as we all stood together watching her leave, I resigned to the fact that she'd made her choice. And she hadn't chosen us.

* * *

We all huddled at the bottom of the stairs around a collection of exhausted candles and a solitary gas lamp. Beth began singing a song a Capella. Her melodies floated around the open room and allowed us all to exhale, even crack a smile, no matter how brief. It mattered. We looked around the room at our family and knew it mattered. Hannah leant back into my embrace as we hummed along with Beth.  
Rick cradled his child and made his way over to Daryl and Hershel. The three men stood stoically together and honestly just the sight of them lifted my spirits further.

"Some reunion huh?" Daryl posed.

"She's in a jam." Rick rocked Judith.

"We all are." Hershel uttered "Andrea's persuasive. This fella's armed to the teeth, bent on destruction."

"So what do you wanna do?" Daryl asked.

"We match it. I'm going on a run."

"I'll head out tomorrow."

"No, you stay here." Rick shook his head, "Keep an eye on your brother. I'm glad you're back, really, but if he causes a problem, it's on you."

"I got him." Daryl nodded.

"I'll take Michonne."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"I'll find out. Georgia will back me up…and Carl. He's ready. You hold it down here."

"You got it."


	39. Season 3: 09: Clear

The four of us piled into the Hyundai at the break of dawn; Michonne occupied the driver's seat, Rick wanted to keep her in his line of sight at all times. I rode in the back with Carl during the silent car ride.

The silence persisted until something caught Rick's eye further up the road. A man, carrying a large orange rucksack; he was all alone, staggering on the side of the road.

As the distance between us lessened, he turned, an expression of relief plastered across his face,

"Hey! Hey! Slow down! Slow down! I'm begging you! Please!" He hollered and ran after our car as it sped right by him. Carl's head whipped round to watch the man tumble to his knees in the middle of the road. I held my head in my hand, propped up against the door and gently exhaled. No one said a word.

Eventually we stumbled across a car pileup, overturned bus. Michonne carefully navigated around the cars, granting us a safari-style view of the aftermath. It was rather grim.

A walker snarled from underneath the bus as we remained stationary, the latest Georgia rainstorm had left the terrain under the wheels sloppy and muddy, the car was stuck. Of course, without skipping a beat, a pack of walkers slammed their blood-drenched limbs against the car, clawing desperately for us. We looked at each other with an almost rehearsed harmonised sigh. Michonne tried to coerce the slipping tyres one last time before Rick turned to the back seat and instructed us to cover our ears. He poked his pistol through a gap in the car's window and eliminated the pack one by one.

The coast was clear; we were free to tend to our little traction problem. We picked the cars clean, one box of ammo, a revolver and some out of date saltines later and Rick finally piped up

"Yeah, this'll work." He raised a scarf, bundled it together and headed over to our car, I handed over sticks I'd plucked up en route.  
"Tell me when." Michonne sheathed her sword and resumed her driving position.

"Hey." Rick called his son over to us. "Put something like this under the car with a little gravel and sticks. It gives you traction."

"Grandpa Jack?" I stood over them, hands on my hips.

Rick chuckled "Yeah. Taught me all I know 'bout getting outta sticky situations."

I smiled warmly at the man as I thought kindly back on his grandfather. My own family, well, they didn't rise to the occasion of being family. But Grandpa Jack and Nana Lynne, Rick's grandparents had always looked out for my brother and me. My mother and I stayed with them a few times when things got heated with my father and after she passed I lived with them permanently. Shane liked to think he was the one that protected me throughout the years, but Jack and Lynne taught me the practical skills, how to work with what you've got and overcoming your shortcomings. Perhaps the best illustration would be the audience at my med-school graduation; Jack, Lynne, Rick and Lori.

"Wouldn't have to do it if she didn't get us stuck." Carl scorned.

"It was an honest mistake." Rick gave me a signal to head back into the car. I took my place behind Michonne and sighed at the volume of their conversation. We could hear them loud and clear as they packed the traction items under the wheels. Michonne propped her arm against the door, her hand rested gently on the roof of the car.

As Carl's inquest began "Why'd you let her come? She took you to Woodbury and you said she just split on you. And Oscar died and you guys-"

I leant forward and whispered, "I never thanked you, for helping us get outta there. I really appreciate it."

She merely nodded in response and returned her gaze to the rear view mirror.

"It wasn't that simple. I asked her to come today. I didn't want to leave her at the prison if I wasn't there, not with Merle. That and we got common interests. For right now, we have the same problems. So maybe we can work on them together."

"Just for right now?" Carl enquired.

"Yeah just for right now." Rick drawled.

"HEY! Help me! I'm begging you! Don't leave!" The orange rucksack man was trundling down the road. God damn, he'd made good time. He continued to holler as Rick knocked on the car, signalling it was time to bail.  
"Let's go." He patted Carl on the shoulder and within moments we were out of there.

* * *

We'd descended upon King County. It had been a year since I'd laid eyes on this place. My hometown…was unrecognisable. Perhaps, in part from the panic, I hadn't taken it in the day we left. I only remembered the people running for their lives, the faces of our neighbours, our old friends. I didn't remember the state of the town; I still had the childhood backdrop in my head. The difference was all the more striking. As we all climbed out of the Hyundai, I took a sharp intake of breath. Rick must have heard me; he placed his arm around me, and squeezed gently before we continued on.

The silence was most salient; the small town hustle and bustle was replaced with the gentle breeze agitating idle trash in the street. Walking down Mason Street, side-lined by the railway line, all the houses were torched, trashed or boarded up.

We made our way with relative ease inside King County's Sheriff Department. It was futile from the moment we stepped through the bashed down door. The gun locker was wide open and empty. Rick raised his hands to his head and furrowed his brow.

"Dammit!" He kicked an empty box of ammo.

"Help me check the rest, Carl." I nudged the boy but our scan came up less than fruitful, half a small box kicked under a bench.

"You got any other police stations in town?" Michonne examined an empty bullet shell on the floor.

"I was the police here." Rick drawled and looked sideways to me. "Me and a few other guys; ain't a big town."

"There are other places to check. May not have as many guns as were in here, but-" I uttered.

"We need as many guns as were in here." Michonne said flatly and she wasn't wrong. "Ammo too."

"Yeah, we do. Right now, we only got a line on a couple, where you thinking, George?"

"Main Street, greatest concentration. Bars, Coop's liquor store. People were holed up at home when we left, not their place of business. Owners had a gun or two behind the counters people won't have known about."

"I did. I signed the permits." Rick scratched his head. "They might still be there. Do you have a problem with that approach?" he stepped towards Michonne.

"No, Rick. I don't have a problem." She said softly and passed the bullet over to him. He tucked it into his shirt and after a final glance at his former life, we made our way out. The trek into town was not a lengthy one in the slightest. We passed an archway into the old factory courtyard and briefly paused at the mound of burnt bodies inside. Gas canisters littered around and "Away with you!" was plastered across the wall. Not the most threatening of phrases.

We were by chance, following spray painted arrows on the floor which coincided with our route. It seemed a little odd, but I didn't waste too much thought on it. As we edged our way round the corner of McKee's air conditioning shop we all simultaneously slapped our hands to our weapons.

"What is that?" Michonne uttered

"That's new." I uttered back.

I glanced back at the building, "No Guilt! You know that!" plastered across the shop. What the hell?

We cautiously approached the heavy duty barricade that lined the beginning of Main Street. Spiked poles protruded from all angles, walls, car trunks. "Turn around and live!" was sprayed in front of us. "Just listen!" was flying on a sheet to our left. These warnings were all well and good, but the silence was what unsettled me most. Where were those delivering the threats?

Pigeons in cages rattled about as we navigated through the spikes.  
"Noise traps?" I whispered.

"It looks like someone's already made this theirs." Michonne pointed out.

"Doesn't mean they found what we're looking for." Rick drawled and ducked under some rope. "Couple of the places are just up ahead, let's get in and get the hell outta here." He lead us further in. "There. Tyrell's. A shotgun and two handguns license issued to Tyrell Debbs."

The unmistakable groan resonated behind us. Carl patted his dad's arm to stop and look back. A female walker snarled and stumbled towards us, missing the first set of spikes.

"Wait." Rick advised Michonne to stay in place as she moved to dispatch it. "She'll get caught." The walker bumped into the rope and slammed into the ground as a shot flew into her head.

We staggered as the sniper yelled "HANDS!" We stopped dead and threw our hands in the air.

"Now you drop what you got and you go!" He commanded. The sun was blinding behind him, but I could see he was armed and armoured to the teeth. "Your guns, your shoes, and that sword! All of it! 10 seconds!"

"Run for the car now." Rick hissed.  
"Dad!" Carl whined.

"We need that rifle." Michonne hissed back as the man continued to count down. "I think I can get up there."

I shot a desperate look at Rick to ascertain his thinking. What the hell are we doing here?

"Cover him to the car." He uttered without taking his eyes off the sniper. "Carl, GO." He burst into action and that was our cue. I covered his son until he was safely behind the car, freeing up precious seconds for Michonne to slip away. Rick dove ahead, taking most of the heat. The hailstorm of rifle bullets scattered across the street. My mind was racing as Carl edged back towards me and passed the half empty box of bullets. I reloaded my pistol with haste and passed them back.  
"Your dad'll be out soon." I stated and motioned him to head back further to a better vantage point. I covered Carl yet again and he scrambled away out of sight. The gunfire dissipated and I saw Rick scope it out. My eyes fell upon Michonne shrugging from the top of the building. He was gone?

The shots spat out from our level. Rick sprinted back, behind a dumpster as the man marched towards him. He was dangerously close. From that distance the bullets would rip him to shreds. I poked my head out in a bid to distract the assailant; he silenced me with a barrage of bullets and pressed on towards his easy target. "SHIT." I cussed and shuffled around to the other side.

The man was closing in on Rick, as I lined up the shot; the sniper slumped to the ground, slamming his head. I sprinted over to see Carl standing wide-eyed, handgun pointing at where the man had been standing. Rick emerged from his cover pointing his, now presumably empty, pistol at the fallen man. He looked to his son, "You okay?"

"Yeah." He nodded curtly.

"I told you to run for the car. I didn't want you to have to do that." Rick sighed in regret.

"I had to." Carl stated plainly. The tone in his voice lingered with me for a while after this day. I thought about Hannah and how growing up in this world was going to change her, unrecognisably.

"He's wearing body armour." I smacked the man's chest and ripped it off exposing a battered bruise from the bullet's impact but nothing more. "He's alive."

"Do we care?" Michonne scoffed.

I removed the man's mask and Rick drawled "Yeah." I looked up to face him; his face was pained and littered with emotion, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

* * *

"Watch out for booby traps." Rick glanced inside the building. "Looks like he's gotten pretty creative so far..."

"What happened to get in and get the hell outta here?" Michonne argued.

"Well I ain't leaving him on the street."

"Look, I know you said he helped you-"

"He saved my life." He shut her down, passion punctuated every syllable. "He wasn't like this then."

"Okay." Michonne backed down.

"Jesus, he has a son."

"You think he's in there?"

Rick made his way towards the entrance, followed swiftly by Michonne. Within moments they'd returned to us, ready to carry the man inside.

I covered the back with Carl as Rick and Michonne lugged the man upstairs, progress was slow and steady as we navigated the traps.  
"Carl. Watch the wire." Rick shouted back to his son. Carl waited for me to ascend the stairs and pointed at the wire immediately before the curtain sprawled with "I'm not shitting you!" in what looked like blood.

He held the curtain back for me, exposing a bloody axe suspended at head height, evidently the treat for tripping the wire. The redecoration didn't stop there. The walls were littered with writing in chalk, some of it pieced together to resemble plans, locations; but most of it appeared to merely be ramblings.  
"I showed him that weapons locker last year." Rick groaned under the weight of the man. The statement made a colossal load more sense once Carl and I stepped into the next room. It was covered in weapons. Weapons that made our pistols and revolvers look like toys.

"And it had all of this in it?" Michonne glanced around in disbelief as the continued hauling the man.

"No, not even half! He's been busy." Rick nodded over to the cot and they lay him down upon it.

Michonne immediately rustled for a duffel bag and began stuffing weapons inside, aided by Carl gathering up ammo. I approached the man and checked him over before raided his medical supplies. The stash was incredible: surgical tape, stitches, even IVs? The crazy bastard must have raided Linden County General. No way in hell he rustled these up at the practice, these were top quality. I glanced back to see Rick following the ramblings on the wall before shaking his head and rummaging through a box.

"No." Rick uttered, stepping back from the wall, a beat up radio walkie-talkie in hand. The wall stated "Duane turned." We all stopped looting and turned to face him. This was the man he was desperately trying to radio back on that Atlanta rooftop. Was Duane…this man's son? "We're gonna wait for him to wake up. Make sure he's okay."

"Rick, he'll be fine. The armour took the blow." I piped up.

"He tried to kill us." Michonne dismissed his suggestion with resounding logic.

"He told us to go. He didn't know who we were." Rick defended the man.

"He tried to kill us and we didn't leave him for the walkers. He's had a good day. He doesn't need half of these guns. We do." Michonne reasoned with him.

"We're waiting for him to wake up. That's it." Rick dictated, unwavering.

"Have you taken a look around this place? The axe, the spikes, the walls." Michonne implored.

"You think he's crazy?"

"No. I think he's dangerous."

"I know him."

"He wasn't like this then."

"We're gonna wait for him to wake up." Rick took restraints and secured them around the man's wrists. Carl stepped towards a map of the town.

"What do you see?" I followed him over.

"It's our neighbourhood. It's gone." I followed his eye, just before the turning to Birch Street, the words "BURNT OUT" was scrawled across it.

"Is that why you wanted to come? To see the house?" Rick asked his son, to no avail "Carl?"

"I-I just wanted to come." Carl remained transfixed to the map. I didn't give it another glance passed the Grimes' house. Truth is I was happier in blissful ignorance regarding the state of the town. My parent's house had burned down long before in my mind. A crunching coming from Michonne's direction broke our silence.

"We're eating his food now?" Rick enquired to Michonne's chomping down on an apple.

She shrugged and retorted "The mat said welcome."

"I'm going on a run." Carl stated firmly. We all turned to face the boy, eyebrow's raised.

"Where?" his father enquired

"I thought maybe the one thing people didn't loot was cribs. There's that baby place that mom's friend Sarah ran. It's just around the corner."

"Carl…" he started

"Dad, it's just around the corner! And there's all those walker traps!"

"You're gonna need some help carrying the box." Michonne stated.

"The what?" Carl scoffed.

"If you're gonna get a crib, you have to get the box. It's big and heavy. You're gonna need help carrying the box. You are getting a crib right?" Michonne implored.

"That's what I said."

"Then I'll go with him."

"Right then, that's the deal." Rick waited for his son's delayed nod. "You get into trouble, you holler. We'll hear you from here."

"Okay."

The two of them left, with Carl storming out in front.

"You think that was wise?" Rick asked me once they were out of ear shot.

"Yeah, I trust her." I nodded "I'm gonna nip to the pharmacy, probably empty but worth a shot."

"Be quick." He drawled.  
"I will be." I brushed his arm. "You okay?"

He nodded and I headed out.

* * *

The pharmacy was only two doors down and well within the walker trap domain. The trip took little effort. My initial suspicions were indeed correct, the shelves had been ransacked, though as a result Morgan hadn't seen reason to outfit any traps in here. Looters would assume they'd come up empty in here. I however, immediately rummaged around the back office for Ernie's keys. Right where he'd always left them, underneath a Georgia Bulldogs bobble head. I'd spent a few weeks beefing up my med-school application working here; I knew exactly how to access the higher end locked up dispensers. After one too many sticky-fingered junkies looking to score rather exceptional painkillers, they were kept under lock and key.

I filled an anti-depressant branded canvas bag with the spoils.

* * *

I returned to the sound of Morgan scuffling about in the street, clearing the walkers from the spikes. Michonne and Carl arrived on cue from the opposite end of the street, toting a crib stuffed with goodies. Rick passed them each gun bags he'd gathered at the entrance to Morgan's lair.  
"Thank god, I was about to look for ya'll"

I looked at the blood seeping from Rick's shirt.

"Oh, it's nothing." He dismissed my look of concern and handed me my tote of surgical supplies in addition to a gun bag.

"He's okay?" I asked tentatively.

"No, he's not." Rick merely shook his head and led us away from here.

"Wait." Carl stopped as we passed the hobbling man "Hey, Morgan!"

"Carl." Rick hissed.

"I had to shoot you. You know I had to, right?" Carl asked.

Morgan nodded.

"I'm sorry." Carl said plainly.

"Hey, son, don't ever be sorry." Morgan demanded back. There was obviously a second layer to this man's hurt over the loss of his son. I shook it off and we continued on our way.

* * *

We dragged our gear to the outside of town, our backs killing us under the weight of our stash. The Hyundai was stuffed to the brim.

"Everything okay with her?" Rick uttered to his son.

"She might be one of us." Carl smiled genuinely.

"What?"

"Everything went okay."

"Hop in the front. I'll throw this in the back" He instructed his son as he took a moment to glance back upon the town, for what I presumed was for the notion he may never see it again. I continued to rummage in my medical supplies and picked out what I'd need to patch up his shoulder, tossing the necessities over the trunk guard onto the back seats.

"You see something?" Michonne dragged the last of the guns over, I moved out of the way so she could pile them in. "I know you see things, people. I used to talk to my dead boyfriend. It happens." Rick sighed but there was warmth to it, an openness I'd been longing to see.

"You want to drive? So I can take a look at him?" I handed the keys over to Michonne.

"Yeah" She accepted them warmly.

"Good…'cause I see things." Rick chuckled, closed the trunk and made his way round the car.

His shoulder injury was a clean slice, with simple disinfectant, coagulating serum and a clean dressing, it should heal nicely. I told him if it continued to weep by the time we got back; I'd fix up some stitches. The shaky car ride would probably do more damage than good.  
He squeezed my hand tightly, drawled out a thank you followed by a sincere expression.

"I'm glad you ended up back here. I don't know what I'd do without you, little one."

I kissed his cheek and wiped a speck of blood from above his brow.

"You're constant. I realise that, out of everything in this messed-up world, little Georgia Peach is always there, smiling through it." Rick rasped, "Hannah's just like you, resilient. I still see that little face the night Jack and Lynne took you home, your eyes so big, so pale. You cried for one week solid and next, you were standing tall. We were always in awe of you."

"I carry it all the damn time now." I sighed as my eyes lined with tears.

"We need to leave it here." Rick drawled, "Both of us need to leave it here."

We continued our drive back to the prison, all with a little less weight on our chests. Carl had served his sister a great gift and proved himself further to his father. Michonne had let down her guard and carved out a place amongst us, as one of us. Rick had the answer to a question that long plagued him and succeeded in arming us. The weight I left behind in the centre of King County was my old self, so desperate to leave, to start over, to grasp that second chance, to really make something of myself. It was never clearer than standing in those barren streets; it was all to prove something to him, not me. Breaking my back for that acceptance into Harvard was to prove I was my mother's daughter, and nothing like my father. The support of Jack and Lynne Grimes delivered me there, though I'd never outright ask for help, they were the ones. I left my anger behind, for my mother's untimely passing, for my…father's spiral, for Olivia's death, for Ethan…for what Shane had become.

The weight was not serving me, it was hindering me. I was not responsible, no matter how my thoughts tangled around them. No more would I dwell, I would appreciate the gifts of these relationships in hindsight.

We sped along the road at a comfortable pace; I couldn't wait to finally get home, regardless of what waited for us. After we passed the car pileup without a problem, the next sight unsettled my stomach. The orange rucksack lay yards ahead of a trail of innards. The man covered a length of the road. Without a word exchanged, Michonne stopped the car at the rucksack, Carl dragged it inside, onto his lap and we continued on our way.

* * *

After dumping my supplies in the store cupboard I checked in on Hannah but Carol told me she was already fast asleep. I made my way up to Daryl's room and waited for him there.

"You alrigh'?" he finally materialised.

I nodded "Yeah. Long day."

"Rick said. Messed up"

"We've seen worse." I offered up half-heartedly. "Grabbed another crossbow and heaps of arrows"

"I saw, sweet haul. We're meeting with the Governor tomorrow. Noon. Abandoned building a few miles from here, Andrea set it up."

I sighed out, "Here we go."

"You comin'?" He settled next to me on the bed, I stood up and nodded.

I made my way over to the curtain, drawing it over the entrance. I turned to face him and without a word, slid my shirt over my head, throwing it down in his direction. Next, I shuffled out of my jeans, which captivated his attention for good. He rose up from the side of the bed and grabbed me, passionately kissing and exploring every inch of our bodies again. We took our time, I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried us over, never relenting. I'd never felt as connected to someone amongst the passion.

Later into the night, I sat between his legs, my back pressed against his solid chest. I felt safe again, amidst his embrace as he kissed slowly along my neck. Even this moment felt so different, it was shielding; it was tender. I told him all about King County, the burned down houses, where I'd grown up. I'd told him about actually using something Grandpa Jack had taught us, getting stuck in the mud.

Hershel, Daryl, Rick and I were to meet with the mighty Governor tomorrow. I'd have no regrets should tomorrow never come.


	40. Season 3: 10: Arrow on the Doorpost

We pulled up on the old farmhouse road and spotted the abandoned silos; the rundown barn building next to it was our meeting spot. Daryl turned off his bike as I climbed off the back of it, adjusting the knife in my waistband and arming my pistol. Hershel and Rick parked up next to us. Rick signalled Hershel to hold the fort and he continued to survey the horizon.

Rick joined Daryl and me as we moved forward. Daryl took point, crossbow ready for the slightest finch, with Rick covering the rear, scouting all possibilities. We made our way cautiously through the silo maze, by Daryl's silent instructions. The decrepit buildings whined and creaked in the breeze. A couple of walkers lay sprawled out in our path, their fresh blood indicated a recent takedown.

Rick motioned Daryl to cover the other side of the building and for I to hold my ground here. I watched Rick weave into the barn. Peering through a crack in the door I heard him click his revolver in unison with the rise of my own gun at the rustling sound. The Governor emerged from the shadows. He raised his hands in jest, scoffed and uttered "We have a lot to talk about."

Daryl had made his way back around the building and nudged me to follow him round. He went as far as to grab my hand as I wavered in indecision. Hershel pulled up to us.

"He's already in there. Sat down with Rick." Daryl drawled.

"I don't see any cars." Hershel noted.

"This doesn't feel right." I uttered.

"Keep it running." Daryl nodded at Hershel.

A car screeched, approaching in the distance. "Heads up!" Daryl slapped the car as we all prepared ourselves. A heavy-duty truck pulled up, containing Andrea, a weedy looking man and someone I recognised instantly as the chap whose throat was about to get ripped out.

He sniggered as he spoke, the words granting him great joy, "Whoa, check out the welcoming committee, howdy again sweetheart. I see you donned some clothes for the occasion-"

I charged forwards in a blind rage and clocked the bastard square in the face,

"You fuckin' piece of shit-"

As he recoiled everyone raised into high alert, unsheathing their weapons as Andrea body-checked me. "Whoa! GEORGIA! Calm the hell down! Tensions are running high, I get it."

"Don't you fucking touch me!" I shoved her away and lunged at him again, only to be met with his pistol. What a fucking coward he was. My eyes fell upon Andrea, she had no idea what had happened to me in that precious town of hers.

Daryl wrapped one arm around my waist and yanked me behind him, "Alright, enough! Get that gun out of my face, bro." It wasn't a request when it came from Daryl.

"Now, what the hell? Why's your boy already in there?" His crossbow remained fixed at the guy's chest as he rasped on.

"He's here?" Andrea panted.

"Yup" Daryl drawled.

She sighed and made her way into the building. Yeah, that's right, run to your psycho boyfriend's side.

Daryl paced around as the weedy man scribbled notes on the car bonnet. I leant against our car, arms crossed, pistol tucked under them, finger on the trigger.

"Maybe I should go inside?" Hershel suggested, breaking the palpable tension briefly.

"The Governor thought it best if he and Rick spoke privately." Milton piped up.

Like we give a shit what that animal thinks best. Before I could pitch in Daryl stepped forwards.  
"Who the hell are you?" he raised his eyebrow in the mildest of interest.

"Milton Mamet." He stuttered.

"Great. He brought his butler."

The man that had sat outside as I was tortured and assaulted scoffed at Daryl's joke. The sound of his chuckle made vomit rise up from the pit of my stomach. My finger traced the trigger, logic began to dissipate from my mind as the moments passed in his presence. I found myself wishing hell upon these negotiations.

"I'm his advisor." Milton stated as if it meant something.

"What kind of advice?" Daryl humoured him.

"Planning. Biters. Uh, you know, I'm sorry. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchmen." The weedy man had grown some balls.

"You better watch your mouth, sunshine." Daryl's tone dropped.

"Look, if you and I are gonna be out here pointing guns at each other all day, do me a favour, and shut your mouth." Martinez piped in and squared up to Daryl.

"We don't need this. It all goes south in there we'll be at each other's throats soon enough." Hershel reasoned with the heated men. Oh sure, getting riled up at a little smack talk is just fine. I'm the unreasonable one… The two men smirked at each other and backed off.

Andrea stormed out of the room and parked herself down on a mound. Her face said it all. Martinez proceeded to slam the door shut, followed by a wink sent my way. I stifled the disgust and knew my time would come.

Daryl exhaled restlessly.

"There's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore the issues ourselves." Milton minced over to us.

"Boss said to sit tight and shut up." Martinez brushed past him and parked his ass on his truck.

"Don't you mean the Governor?" Daryl scoffed.

"It's a good thing they're sitting down, especially after what happened. They're gonna work it out. Nobody wants another battle." Milton pressed on.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a battle." Daryl scoffed.

"I would call it a battle and I did. I recorded it." Milton raised a slim beige notepad up; a perfect reflection of the man handling it.

"For what?" Daryl raised an eyebrow.

"Somebody's got to keep a record of what we've gone through. It'll be a part of our history."

"That makes sense." Hershel nodded.

"I've got dozens of interviews-" Milton was cut short by walkers snarling in the distance. I headed out first, only to be overtaken by Daryl, who shot a look back at me. Martinez stopped next to him; the two men exchanged a glance followed by a Canadian stand-off.

"After you"

"No, after you"

I sighed heavily, brushed past them both and plunged my dagger into the first walker. Martinez scoffed "Pfft, saved by pussy" and proceeded to obliterate a walker's head with a single swing of his bat. They took it in turns, showing off, one walker at a time. It was unbelievable. I left them to it.

* * *

I returned to find Hershel flicking through his bible, perched next to Milton on a log.

"May I ask how you lost your leg?" Milton scrubbed away at his glasses lens.

"I was bit."

"So you cut off your leg to stop the infection from spreading. Interesting" He propped his glasses back upon his face, pushed them further up his nose and turned intently to Hershel "How long after the initial bite?"

"Immediately."

"You didn't bleed out?"

"We have good people. Georgia took care of me." Hershel nodded towards me.

"You…you're a doctor?" He looked up.

I nodded, slightly miffed at his disbelief.

"Have you amputated before?" He enquired further

"We learn by trial and error." Hershel chuckled lightly. I smiled warmly at his humour.

"Me too…" Milton uttered. "May I see it? Your stump, I'd like to um…see where the amputation was. How high above the bite?"

"I'm not showing you my leg." Hershel refused. I shuffled my weight and position.

"It's important data." Milton persisted.

"I just met you. At least buy me a drink first." Hershel diffused the situation with his delicate humour and the men both chuckled.

"Georgia, come talk to Andrea. See how it's going in there?" Hershel nodded over towards her.

As much as I resented the idea of facing her, whilst my blood was still boiling, I agreed. She didn't actually know what had happened, she was oblivious, ignorantly blinded.

"How's it going in there?" Hershel asked.

"They kicked me out. I don't know what I'm doing here." She sighed.

"You're trying to help." I offered up through gritted teeth.

"What happened to you? With Maggie?" Andrea first turned to me and then Hershel.

The words were stuck in mouth, I couldn't bring myself to release them, to articulate what that man had done, what these people who stood meters away knew had happened.

Hershel sighed "He's a sick man."

"His cronies are no different" was all I could utter.

Andrea lowered her head, tearfully. "What am I gonna do now? I can't go back there."

"We're family. You belong with us." Hershel consoled her.

"But if you join us, it's settled." I stated.

"I know." She exhaled clearly.

The Governor re-emerged first, followed by Rick. They both said nothing as we cleared off into our respective cars. I climbed into the back seat of the Hyundai rather than the back of Daryl's bike; I needed to be alone at that moment in time. Andrea climbed into Governor's truck. Once again, she'd made her choice.

* * *

"What was that back there?" Daryl stopped me from brushing past him, "never seen you get like that before."

I looked at the ground fiercely before lifting my gaze up to him "That dick you were having a pissing contest with? Was sat outside whilst his buddy gave me these." I pointed to the scars on my breasts and Daryl's brow folded, he staggered, shaken, looking set to blow.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" he scorned.

"It wasn't gonna go south on account of this." I reasoned with him, reached out and caressed his cheek. He grabbed my hand moments after, kissed it and replied "you got a mean right hook, darlin'"

"Best make sure you're not on the end of it then." I laughed as Rick summoned everyone inside.

Rick walked over with a rifle in his hand. We all assembled at the bottom of the stairs. I beckoned Hannah over to stand with me as he spoke. This felt like a big moment; I braced for impact, holding her close.

"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while." Rick said.

"Just the two of ya?" Merle asked.

"Yeah" He answered.

"Should have gone when we had the chance, bro" Merle scoffed at Glenn.

"He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead; he wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war." Rick said before he left us. Hershel steadily followed him out.

Daryl nodded to Merle before I relinquished my hold on Hannah and she shuffled back over to Carol. No one spoke for a while, they just exchanged glances. What could anyone say? It was the news we'd all expected to hear.

* * *

"What was that about?" I asked Daryl when he'd returned from speaking with Rick and Hershel.

He shook his head "Nothin'." It was difficult to tell when the man was hiding something. His drawl was the same regardless of his emotion but something didn't feel right.

Maggie and Carl were running in between the two outer perimeter fences, distracting the walkers. They banged furiously on sauce pans, hollering and shouting too, desperate to trap their undivided attention. Glenn and Daryl set up traps in the field, dragging the hefty contraptions off the back of the truck. Michonne took care of the strays and tapped on the truck when it was time for me to drive to a new spot.

"Alrigh' that's us!" Daryl hollered and I returned us to the courtyard.

"They try to drive back up to the gate again maybe some blown tires will stop them." Glenn informed Rick as he approached our team.

"That's a good idea." Rick greeted us.

"It was Michonne's." Daryl glared at him. They exchanged a glance which unsettled me.

"We don't have to win." Michonne declared "We just have to make their getting at us more trouble than it's worth."

Carl and Maggie returned to us.

"Let's go." Rick led us all back inside.

* * *

Hershel was reading a bible passage to his daughters as Hannah painted my nails next to them.

"You're getting better, banana. Almost completely within the lines" I smiled.  
"Stop fidgeting" she wined and continued her handiwork.

I'd never been religious, it had never been an influence in my life or those around me, but I enjoyed watching the comfort on his daughter's faces as he spoke to them. His peaceful words were disrupted by Rick's entrance, Hershel clambered over to him and they had a hushed conversation.

* * *

Rick called us to a meeting in the courtyard. I found Hannah laughing with Carol outside and sat myself down next to Carl. I looked around and noticed Daryl, Merle, and Michonne were missing.

"When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal. He said that he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne." Rick started and my eyes widened.  
No. Did he really give Michonne over to the Governor? Is that where they were? And Daryl…he?

"And I was gonna do that... to keep us safe. I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfil the deal and Daryl went to stop him and I don't know if it's too late." He continued, "I was wrong not to tell you. And I'm sorry. What I said last year that first night after the farm... it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live... how you die... it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay and we can fight or we can go."

He watched us for a few seconds, scanning our reactions before trudging back to his post atop of the guard tower. We sat in silence yet again, before we began peeling away to be alone with our thoughts. The hushed conversations between the men finally had an explanation.


	41. Season 3 Finale: Welcome to the Tombs

It was decided. We packed up our essential gear and loaded it into the back of the Hyundai. I rose up from the hood of a car to witness Carl brush past his father's attempt to speak with him and storm ahead, I presumed he'd not taken his allocated role all too well.

"I've never seen him this mad. With Lori, he just shut down." Rick muttered as he leant against the car I was finishing up with. I joined Rick in a glance back at his son, helping Beth stuff rucksacks into the trunk.

"He's still a kid. It's easy to forget." I stepped back as Rick slammed the hood down, "You're sure you don't want me with you?" I asked the man for the last time.

"If I'm gonna do this. I gotta know they're safe." He nodded towards his children in the car, kissed my forehead and made his way to his next task.

The stage had been set. We were to leave behind no trace, as if we'd disappeared into the night. Carl slammed the Hyundai's boot down and took his place in the back seat. I glanced back over to Daryl sat pensively beside his bike, sorting out his gear, he looked so deflated.

"Merle never did nothing like that, his whole life." I heard him sigh to Carol.

Upon his return he'd briefly told us what had happened, not in great depth. All that mattered was Merle had done us a great service and Daryl had to put him down. After everything we'd been through, I thought I'd be glad to see the back of him. But…I would never wish this on Daryl. I could understand the difficulty in standing by a brother going spectacularly off the rails; at least his came to redeem himself in the end.

"He gave us a chance." Carol offered her hand to help him rise up. He accepted it and headed for Rick. I considered giving the cell block another once over, it was now or never as I'd resigned myself to the possibility we may never return here. But our vehicles were packed with everything we'd need and I was only anxious to get going, to keep moving. Beth wandered over with Judith in her arms and Hannah climbed in next to Carl. Beth and I played with the baby's fussy fingers until Daryl walked back over to me.

"Alright, so you're heading with Hershel and the kids. If things go south, they'll need-"

"Okay." I replied.

"Okay?" He asked.

"I said 'okay'. I'm going with Hershel." I answered.

"What, no sass?"

I managed to produce a half-smile in return. I placed my palm on his chest and went to say something but the words fell flat in my mind. I'm sorry for your brother. I resent being on the side lines. I'm worried for us all. If anything happens to you…to Rick…to Glenn…to anyone. There weren't words for this.

"I know. I'll see you after." He drawled, made a point of meeting my eyes and then left me to clamber into the driver's seat. I know…he knew. Beth buckled Hannah in and repositioned Judith on her lap. After Hershel finished his final words to Rick, he settled into the front seat and we were gone.

* * *

We reached our destination with relative ease. I spun the car round and parked it as far into the woods as possible, at an easily escapable angle. Beth remained in the car with Hannah and Judith and we began to further conceal it as best we could with rogue branches and leaves. I was quietly glad the coverage would conceal their eyes too.

Carl and I checked our guns were fully loaded for a final time in the event someone should stumble upon us. We soon heard heavy vehicles rumbling north of our position, heading towards the prison. Hershel and I exchanged the exact same look over Carl; any futile hopes we'd still been harbouring were flatly dismissed. A few minutes' later guns were being unloaded across the entire arena. Had we turned up to the battle, all of us, we'd have been torn apart in a shower of bullets. The sheer volume and ferocity of the blasts indicated it wasn't a mere pistol fight at dawn. Carefully we all peered through the bushes, keeping low and all the while tense. The guard towers collapsed under rocket launchers and heavy duty machine guns tore into the walls. They disappeared out of sight, infiltrating the interior, and it didn't take long for the alarms to blare out. Glenn's traps were working a treat. The gunshots erupted as the intruders spilled out of the cell block in fear.

"I should be there." Carl eventually spat. His jarring words gave me a small fright; I was so entranced on the view. I patted his shoulder; it looked like we were winning. The invaders dispersed and scattered. It wasn't long before we were watching the vehicles roll right out of our grounds. I smiled back at Beth, who was peering out from behind the branches covering the wind screen.

"We did it!" I whispered enthusiastically, beaming! I embraced Hershel and he smiled down at me.

We broke apart as we both heard heavy breathing chugging towards us and the twigs snapping. A teenager ran upon us and Carl pointed his gun fiercely at him. God, can we not have 2 seconds of relief.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't shoot." He said, holding his hands up.

"Drop the weapon, son." Hershel ordered.

"Sure." He replied, watching Carl as he slowly lowered his gun, "Here, take it."

The kid was about to put his gun on the ground, eyes locked on Carl. It took a few moments for me to process the kid falling to the ground, dead. The silencer cushioned my initial understanding as I traced back the line of fire.

Carl had shot him.

I looked at Carl with wide eyes; he just killed someone. Carl had killed a person. It was way different shooting a human being in the head than taking down a walker as his father and I knew full well. I looked to Hershel, who was transfixed on the dead person before us.

After the car was uncovered, I drove us back to the prison. I turned to say something to Hershel but he merely shook his head.

* * *

Once we'd arrived back in the prison, I grabbed Hannah's hand and we headed towards the door.

"I'll talk to Rick." Hershel whispered to me before I passed him.

I nodded, "He was barely two years older than Carl."

"Rick will deal with it."

"Will he?" I rasped before continuing in.

* * *

"We're going back to Woodbury to finish it." Daryl informed me as I settled the girls back into their rooms.

"I'm tagging in this time." I replied tersely.

"Sure. I don't think Carl needs your protection anymore." Hannah sassed as she unpacked her bag. "I don't think you even needed to be in the car, he could have done fine alone."

Daryl raised an amused eyebrow.

I bent down to her level and spoke in a hushed tone to the little girl, "Carl thought he was protecting us, but you know he didn't have to do that right?"

"No, you should have." She uttered back with direct eye contact.

"Hannah-" I raised my tone and my position in objection.

"He was shooting at us. He was trying to kill us and take our home away." She whined, "It's only fair we do the same." She stomped past me, leaving Daryl and I stood there, dumbfounded. But our stroppy, confused pre-teen would have to wait. Maggie and Glenn were staying behind this time in case the Governor came back. It was down to just Rick, Michonne, Daryl and I.

* * *

We didn't have the opportunity to travel too far down the road before we stumbled upon the massacre. There was a slew of vehicles lined up and bodies strewn across the road. Walkers were staggering over them, doing what they do best. We dispatched a few. Without a shadow of a doubt, these were Woodbury residents, littered with bullet holes, feasting on the flesh of their former neighbours. What the hell had happened here…?

I jumped and spun at the sound of someone smacked against the truck cabin window. It was a woman who'd escaped the fate of her friends. She looked completely traumatized.

Daryl placed himself between us and ushered her out. She told us what happened here, I don't think any of us flinched in surprise or doubted her version of events.

We descended upon Woodbury with the survivor in tow. It was nightfall by the time we'd arrived. We were met with a shower of bullets. Just the warm welcome we'd expected. We were firing blindly at the blockades, it was stupid.

Karen rose up from cover, despite Rick's attempt to pull her back, "Tyreese! It's me! Don't shoot!"

"Karen?! Are you okay?! Where's the Governor?" I figured I'd pinpointed where the hollering was coming from and nudged Michonne.

"I'm fine! He fired on everyone. He killed them all." She shouted back.

"Why are you with them?!" Tyreese bellowed.

"They…saved me!" Karen shook.

Rick hollered, "We're coming out!"

"RICK." I scorned.

Daryl rolled his eyes and assumed an initial defensive position to cover Rick.

"We're coming out." Rick raised his hands above his head and we all followed suit. The towering entry-point swung open and Tyreese emerged with Sasha.

"What are you doing here?" Tyreese asked.

"We were coming to finishing this." Rick said. "'til we saw what the Governor did."

"He…He killed them?"

Rick pained out a defeated "Yeah."

"Karen told us: Andrea hopped a wall? Heading for the prison? She never made it." I piped in.

"She might be here." Rick sighed.

* * *

We were lead to where the Governor had held Glenn, Maggie and I.

"The Governor held people here?" I wondered whether Tyreese's eyes could get any wider.

"He did more than hold them." Daryl scoffed bitterly.

His answer held weight to it as we approached a door with blood seeping underneath it.

"Will you open it?" Michonne uttered.

Rick and Daryl kicked the door in. A dead body was slumped by a chair; it looked like the weedy man from before. I didn't have much time to take in the surroundings.

"Andrea!" Michonne fell to her friend slumped by the door. Oh thank goodness! I crouched down on the other side of her, she was battered and bleeding. We needed to get her back to the prison as soon as possible, back to my supplies.

"I tried to stop him." She sighed weakly. I froze mid-exam.

"You're burning up." My words stung the air as I dropped my hands. She revealed a hideous bite mark along her chest. We all collectively exhaled in anguish. Michonne trembled as she held her friend.

"Judith? Carl?" she edged painfully towards Rick. "Hannah? The rest of them?"

"Us. The rest of us." Rick pulled her jacket back over the mark.

"Are they alive?" she breathed with great effort.

"They're alive." I sat back onto my legs.

She turned to Michonne and smiled "It's good you found them."

Michonne couldn't hold in her pain, her words failed her.

"No one can make it alone now." Andrea exhaled.

"I never could." Daryl shook his head.

"I just didn't want anyone to die." She sighed, painfully.

It's amazing no matter how many times you find yourself in this situation; no matter how many times the futility is confirmed before you, you still search hopelessly for any other way to help your friend.

"I can do it myself." She sat forwards.

"No." Michonne's defiant reply punched the air.

"No. I have to…while I still can."

Michonne closed her eyes in defeat.

"Please." Andrea turned to Rick. "I know how the safety works."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Michonne trembled as Rick handed over his revolver.

I squeezed Andrea's hand as the tears streaked down my face. I tried my utmost to smile; it glimmered for a mere moment before drowning in trembling lips.

"I'll see her." Andrea smiled and squeezed my hand back. I knew implicitly she was referring to her sister, my first true friend in this new world.

Rick closed the door behind us. We stood as sentries outside the room. I lost all remnants of how to act and how to be. Daryl instinctively surrounded me, protecting me from what we were about to hear, and eventually my hands rose to lightly meet his back. We remained this way until the bullet was fired. I winced at the piercing sound. The case twinkled against the stone floor.

She was gone.

* * *

The sun was rising over the prison by the time we returned. It looked almost, peaceful. The gates of the prison opened to welcome back the motorcycle, the silver truck and a battered yellow school bus. Our family wandered outside to welcome us back with their guns still glued to their hands. I was both curious to see how this was going to go down with group and exhausted from everything we'd been through. Maggie and Glenn secured the gate before joining us.

Tyreese disembarked the bus first and proceeded to help more elderly patrons off. I ventured over to see if I could be of any help. Beth stuttered, unsure, before deciding to follow me over and help too.

"What is this?" I heard Carl ask his father.

"They're gonna join us." Rick replied as Carl stormed off.

"So it's over?" Hannah wandered up and questioned me.

"It's over, for now. It ain't black and white, Hannah, I won't lie. It's choices. We choose to respect any semblance of humanity that remains, that's who we are. We choose to help those we can help because we could just as easily be on the other side here, it's all down to luck and the cards you draw, I need you to know that." I sighed as I took a terrified little girl's hand and placed it in Hannah's, "And I need you to take Mika inside whilst her dad is helping others."

Hannah looked first to the little girl's trembling face, she couldn't have been more than 2 years off her own age. She glanced back at me and nodded, genuinely, before guiding her inside our home.


	42. Season 4 01: 30 Days Without an Accident

_Livy…I know; it's been a while since we last spoke, it didn't feel right, asking anything of you. Neither of us were ever religious people but something about these talks feels akin to praying. Sometimes…it helps me sort through everything…especially when those I've looked to for guidance have also lost their way._

Winter has passed through with relative ease. The prison has been developed and fortified substantially with the help of so many additional hands. We have viable farmland now, sprouting crops and even little gardening projects maintained by the children. Our numbers have risen well beyond our initial Woodbury additions. The new arrivals filtered in after stumbling across Daryl or Rick on runs, more so Daryl these days. They were only given the option of refuge if they answered 3 somewhat simple questions; how many walkers have you killed? How many people have you killed? Why? The answers to these questions, they tell you a lot about the journey which has brought them here. I've killed many walkers, at the camp, in the search for Sophia, on the farm, here. I'm pretty sure I've killed three people, directly, with intent. It was either me or them, and they underestimated me. We needed people who weren't too far gone, who just needed that glimmer of hope that could build something better.

Cell blocks B, D, and E were cleared out and gradually occupied. A was cleared out and assigned to non-residential purposes given the slightly grim former function as Death Row. I've taken over the end warden's office as my own personal 'practice' close to the cell-block and scrubbed it down thoroughly. I share the space with Hershel and we'd amassed an adequate collection of literature on runs to keep ourselves occupied. We'd also made a point of passing the knowledge on to the likes of Carol and Beth, along with a few of the newer recruits who'd shown a keen interest. The more vital survival skills we could strengthen in our people, the better.

Another Doctor joined us over the winter period, Caleb is his name. He has at least ten years of experience on me and despite the somewhat significant difference between an animal doctor and a people doctor, he often directs his questions purely to Hershel. It bothers me, sure, but I just keep out of his way for the most part. Whatever his deal is, I don't have the time nor the energy to entertain it.

We all have our jobs to do, whether it's guard duty, education, medicine, going out on runs, we have it down to an impressive art. The prison is by no means a bubble exempt from the outside world. The walkers continue to batter on our exterior fences but we work our best to stay on top of them. No matter how far we flourish, they are always there groaning in the background as a constant reminder.

So far there is no sign of the Governor. It appears he decided to decimate his troops and disappear into the sunset. It's a constant source of contention with the council. If we're lucky, he's gone for good. But when are we ever? The fortifications had been our primary objective from day one. Michonne is always out hunting for him. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if she'd covered every inch of Georgia. Attempting to reason with her and consider the worth of her crusade always falls upon deaf ears.

Your little Hannah, well I suppose she ain't so little anymore. She's always having sleepovers with Mika and Lizzie, two young girls who came from Woodbury with their father. They decked out their new cell as a "girls-only" clubhouse and chalked all over the walls. It was precious, I hadn't seen her so happy in such a long time. When they weren't occupied with schooling or scheming in the clubhouse, they would help Farmer Rick feed the pigs.

Yeah, that's perhaps the most significant change around here. Rick gave up the leader role and assumed the vacancy of Chief Farmer. We operate a council system now, consisting of Daryl, Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, Carol, Sasha, Tyreese and myself. Rick meant every word he'd said last year; it was time for democracy. The residents of Woodbury agreed to Sasha and Tyreese representing their interests.

* * *

I began the day by heading down to the fences to relieve Karen. She was advising newer residents on best technique as I sauntered down to them. The walkers had built up heavily again overnight, and by standing on your tippy-toes they were clearly seen still emerging from the forest.

"Balls" I sighed when I reached the group.

"I can stay if you need me to." Karen glanced back and took a momentary pause from brain-stabbing.

I scoured the area, assessing the situation before turning to the woman, "Thank you, yes, just 'til I radio down more helpers. I'm gonna start at tower 3."

The fierce midday sun was beating down as the second team of workers arrived and took over at tower 3. I sighed quietly to myself as I continued to plunge the crowbar, which by this time was admittedly getting a little blunt adding another element of difficulty. I wasn't sure how much time had passed but it seemed as though we were getting somewhere. My arms were beginning to truly lack lustre when I heard footsteps travelling along the gravel walkway towards us. I didn't stop and turn for the fear I'd never start up again.

"Impressive form, Doc" Daryl drawled sarcastically. I stifled a small smile at hearing his voice and prepared myself to retort with some quality sass despite my exhausted state. "You been out here this whole time?"

"How can I help you, Dixon?" I placed a hand on my hip and tried to regain my breath.

"Carol's coming to take over, Hershel wants you."

"Grand." I turned back to continue stabbing only to be taken aside out of earshot from the others.

"We're headin' out, we'll be back before sunset." Daryl said.

"Okay." I replied bluntly.

"Anythin' else for yer list?"

"Negative."

"You alrigh'?" He asked holding an arm out abruptly to halt my strict ignoring.

I nodded, "Peachy, just what it says on the tin. Is that all?"

He hesitated and scowled at me before turning to leave.

* * *

After Carol had taken over from me, I'd found Hershel aiding Rick with the farm. A sharp whistle echoed across the field indicating Michonne's return. Rick and Carl rushed over to our newly designed gate to let her in. It was a pretty crafty design; an exterior gate could be opened from the safety of another fence via a pulley mechanism. The doors would splay out pushing walkers into a spiked fence giving the entrant easy passage.

"Thank god she's back in one piece." I smiled.

"For how long?" Hershel sighed.

We watched her pass out something to Carl, much to his delight. As the team of runners sailed down towards them, Hershel asked me to head back to our office assuring he would join me after he'd spoken to Rick. Hershel being Hershel, he couldn't help but part with some unwelcome wisdom.

"I don't think we have the luxury to hold grudges anymore." He raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a grudge. You've yet to see me grudge, believe me, this ain't grudging." I flustered.

"No. Its building walls for those who will certainly chip away until they tumble down. You might as well save yourselves the trouble." And with that he left me to stumble over my thoughts.

I wasn't holding a grudge. I was lost in thought…thinking about everything that had lead up to this point of relative stability and how fragile it all still felt. I was thinking about life and what that word even means anymore. I was not thinking about the party Beth and I had thrown together to celebrate Glenn and Maggie's marriage.

 _"You scrub up well, Mr Dixon." I scoffed sarcastically and snorted into my glass. I picked a piece of lint off my long flowing navy dress and lost my drink in the process._

 _"You can't hold your bourbon, Doc." He drawled, plucked the glass from my hand and took a swig._

 _"Party's actually this way." I folded my arms across my chest in contest and bore my eyes into him upon realising where he was headed._

 _"Ain't my scene, you know that." He perched against the table and took another swig from my glass._

 _I rose from the library table and gave honesty a try, "It means a lot to me. We all need this."_

 _"Sorry I didn't turn up at your door with a corsage?" he taunted, "Better?"_

 _"Don't patronise me!" I scorned._

 _"Don't think yer changin' me!" He barked back, his eyes ferocious with ire._

 _"This isn't about you, ya surly asshole!" I snatched the glass from his hands and slurred, "It's about Glenn and Maggie and savouring one tiny moment of normalcy! But no, no, no, Daryl Dixon needs to go skulk around in the woods or punch a squirrel or whatever it is you do when some fool tries to get close to you!"_

 _"Someone needs to keep watch. Take it how you wanna." He drawled back._

 _"You're unbelievable." I uttered, "Say hi to our fearless leader for me, whilst you're out there! I'm off to dance my ass off because I can! *hic*"_

* * *

I settled down in my tattered chair and pulled my hair up into a messy bun; it was time to hit the books. Maggie came in intermittently reminding me to eat and for the occasional gossip. On her final visit she told me about Glenn's insistence she stayed behind from the run and his reasons. They'd had a pregnancy scare and after I confirmed she was in fact not pregnant she finally exhaled for the first time in days. I could tell something about her demeanour had been off and assured her she could come to me as soon as anything bothered her, I planned on upholding the ol' doctor-patient confidentiality thing.

I had a little story to raise her spirits further and she chuckled as she heard of her father's wise words, "He has a point, you know. It's about time y'all stopped dancing around it."

"There is no dance, and his lack of dance is not bothering me. Daryl does not dance, he evades and sulks and keeps everything up there in that beautiful brooding head of his. That doesn't bother me, that is Daryl. I…I'm just feeling, I don't know, with Rick on the back seat, I'm anxious, and nervous, and second-guessing everything."

"You and daddy are holding this community together-"

"That's my point. We're all just holding on. We're waiting for him to come back. He's our leader…but he's also my brother, he's my family. And I'm…lost."

"You may feel uncertain, but all those around you haven't cottoned on." Maggie smiled warmly, "I assure you. You've got the leader thing down. We all want Rick back in the game, sure we do, and when he does, you'll both be stronger together.

* * *

When it started getting dark, Hershel insisted I finish for the evening and we went to get some dinner together. My first priority was to find Hannah and check in with her. She was already happily munching her dinner with her new friends but she ran over to me the second she'd finished.

"Hey stranger" I smiled at her.

"Georgie, is it okay if I sleep in Mika's room again?" I brushed her tousled brown hair out of her eyes absent-mindedly as she spoke.

"Yeah, of course, Banana" I half-heartedly replied. I was happy she was interacting with children her own age but a part of me missed her constantly by my side, "What do you girls have planned for tonight?"

"Oh just Story-time with Carol and that's all so far" She ran off to re-join her friends.

"It's a sad day when you're no longer cool to hang out with."

I raised an eyebrow at Hershel. "Hey, I'm still cool."

"She'll always be your little girl."

"I'm the epitome of cool." I scoffed into my dinner.

* * *

I concluded my tumble-weed of an evening reading one of Carl's exhausted comics in bed. My eyelids grew heavy and my arms grew heavier. I sat up and agitated my position trying to pinpoint where I must have strained myself this afternoon.

I changed into pyjama shorts and pottered about before wrapping myself up in a long cardigan. Prison nights could get a little draft-y. I fully realized I was keeping my mind off the fact that Daryl wasn't back yet. He said he would be back by sun set, didn't he? I lay down on top of my blanket, and almost instantly drifted off.

I awoke to Daryl sighing before the sound of clothes shuffling around. He slid me back with relative ease to make room for himself and the bed dipped under his weight.

"Please, make yourself at home." I snorted but his demeanour caused my laughter to drop.

"Roof of the place collapsed." He drawled, "It was raining walkers. Bob got his leg pinned under a shelf."

"Oh god" I rose up onto my elbows as my mind spun on the horror of walkers raining down from the sky. "Is he okay? I should look-"

"Hershel's on it. He's fine. I just had to tell Beth about that Zack kid; he didn't make it."

I surveyed his worn-out expression and sighed, "I'm sorry."

He turned to look at me and stretched out his arm. I shuffled closer and fell asleep embracing him.


	43. Season 4 02: Infected

The next morning, a distant alarm clock stirred us from our slumber. We were the lightest of sleepers these days. As my brain slowly adjusted I realised it was Rick's crack of dawn farming alarm. Daryl pulled me closer towards him and breathed me in, savouring the final moments of stillness before hesitantly rising for the day. He whispered something in my ear before he left the bed but I didn't quite catch it. He bent down and repeated, "There's a baby out there, needs yer attention."

"What is this? The 50s?" I scorned and shuffled about in my new bountiful space in the bed.

"Ya could be shovellin' pig shit." He abruptly ripped the blanket away from me and snickered.

I bolted up right, mouth open. "You…dick"

He merely winked, pecked me on the forehead and continued on his merry way. I glanced over at the alarm clock next to me with one eye open and winced: it was just after 6. I shimmied into my dark skinny jeans, or my paint on pants as Daryl had once called them, and an oversized plain black tee.

Judith was exercising her right to fuss that morning so I brought her outside into the breaking day. The sunlight was streaming through the trees, cascading across the lower grounds, it was almost gorgeous.

"Hey, look!" I raised Judith's little hand up towards the tower and bounced the baby girl, "There's Maggie! Hi Maggie! She's been up since god knows o'clock and she ain't fussin', no she ain't!"

I heard Michonne chuckle from behind me as she passed to head on a solo run; or solo tracking down any trace of the Governor to be more precise. Judith and I watched her head down to Rick and Carl who were busy tending to the crops and the pigs.

Beth materialised not long after and thanked me for the lie-in.

"Yeah, it's no problem, I figured you'd need it." I yawned as I passed over the baby. I woke up abruptly as I realised the tactless words I'd used. "I'm-I'm sorry, I heard about, about Zack."

Beth took Judith in her arms and held the baby close to console her, "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Beth-" I began.

"I'm fine. Really, Georgia, I'm just glad I got to know him and spend that time with him." She uttered calmly as her eyes rose to meet mine, "that's all we can ask for."

I reached out and stroked her arm and softly spoke, "That's a real…mature way to look at it, but you're allowed to be upset, I know it sure as hell doesn't get any easier, no matter how many people we lose."

"I don't cry anymore." Beth scoffed lightly, "I don't even-"

Distant faint screams echoed down to us. We both jerked and spun around, desperately attempting to pinpoint their source. Gunshots rumbled from inside the cell block. I instinctively flipped back to see Carl running towards Maggie's tower and Rick running up towards us.

"Run to Maggie!" I instructed Beth to do the same. She didn't need to be told twice and sprinted away. Lizzie, Mika and Hannah ran outside into the courtyard, sobbing, screaming for help.

"HANNAH!" I screamed and ran up to the little girls, "Are you okay?! RUN! Run to Maggie! NOW!"

"What's happening?!" Rick bellowed as he sprinted up.

"Walkers in D!" Glenn shouted as we both caught up to the courtyard.

"WHAT ABOUT C?" Rick shouted back. Sasha, Tyreese and Daryl burst out of cellblock C.

"It's clear, we locked the gates to the tombs. Hershel's on guard. It ain't a breach, we followed the plan." Sasha informed as she tossed me a knife.

We sprinted inside the cell block and staggered at the scene. It was chaos. It was a bloodbath. Walkers were everywhere ripping people to shreds. These walkers had been our friends only hours ago. We erupted into action. Rick grabbed a rifle from someone and barked in every living face to get out now! Daryl ascended to the top floor at remarkable speed; I intended on following suit and covering him but got swept up in the mayhem. My ears were ringing out from the blasts; gunfire rattling off the walls and bars. Glenn and I swept the lower floor covering Carol as she grabbed children by the hands and pushed them out the door.

"ARE YOU BIT? GET OUT!" Rick's voice roared over and over.

"Run! NOW! RIGHT NOW!" I yelled at two small boys that were trapped inside the corner of a cell. I grabbed the youngest one by the wrist and led them shakily out the door.

"Georgia!" Carol's voice echoed from a nearby cell, "I need you! Amputate!"

"Go, Peach!" Rick called out to me, the scene was gradually becoming under control. "CHECK EVERY CELL!"

I stumbled into the cell and my eyes fell upon Mika and Lizzie's father. Ryan lay bawling on the bed, his arm had been chomped into. Blood was gushing out of the wound at an alarming rate.

"I'm belting up." Carol was already securing the tourniquet around his upper arm as I wrapped my hair up into a messy bun and rolled up my sleeves.

"Ryan. You're going to be okay. This is gonna suck. And then you're going to be just fine." I handed the agonised man a bundled up shirt and uttered, "To bite on."

Carol froze in place and turned to me slowly. Her face was sunken and defeated.

"Carol, we good?" I mumbled in panic, "We don't have time-"

She simply shook her head once and moved to expose the gaping wound on the back of his neck. There was nothing we could do here. My shoulders fell flat in defeat.

"ARE WE CLEAR DOWN HERE? WE'RE SAFE?" I heard Rick bellow. The cellblock fell silent except for Ryan's whimpers. His eyes were clenched shut as he rocked in agony.

"Georgia?!" Glenn called out to me.

"Go. It's okay." Carol dismissed me as I stumbled out of the cell block and slammed my back against the wall to catch my breath and compose myself. Rick gripped a hand on my arm, whispering, "Hey. We're not done." and motioned to follow him up the stairs.

Daryl and Glenn were stalking cell to cell on the upper floor. A rogue walker lunged through a curtain at Glenn.

"GET DOWN." Daryl roared, and as Glenn slid down he fired an arrow straight into the walker's skull. I offered my hand to Glenn and dragged him to his feet as he thanked Daryl for the close call. Rick pulled the curtain back and our eyes collectively fell upon the walker at our feet.

"Oh, it's Patrick." Daryl drawled as we stared at the boy with an arrow through his head. Daryl ripped the arrow from Patrick's skull and checked the final two cells. Patrick's eyes were glazed over in that tell-tale milky haze, blood streamed down from his eyes, nose and mouth; his face was saturated.

"That's all of 'em." Daryl eventually broke our silence. We all exchanged looks with each other before silently beginning a thorough lap of the cellblock ensuring every lifeless body was plunged in the head. No chances were taken. Hershel and I were called over to a dead body that hadn't been completely ravaged. It was displaying the same blood-streams from the eyes as Patrick had. Caleb was already examining it closer.

"No bites. No wounds. I think he just died." Rick searched our faces emphatically for clarification.

"Horribly, too." Caleb informed the gathering, "Pleurisy aspiration, wouldn't you say Hershel?"

"What is that?" Rick asked me, after raising a wary eyebrow towards Caleb.

"He choked on his own blood, caused those trails down his face." I stared directly at Caleb whilst answering, "But that isn't definitive without a thoracentesis; it could be pulmonary embolism, pericarditis, cardiac ischemia-"

"Do you always pluck your diagnosis' out of thin air?" Caleb sneered, "Typical surgeon. Sloppy diagnosis, dragged to the O.R."

"Excuse me, buddy! I-" I began but was abruptly cut off by Rick's shoulder slamming in front of me. The man had evidently touched a petty nerve.

"I saw these streaks on a walker, by our fence." Rick informed the group and didn't even flinch as I collided with him.

"They're on Patrick too" Daryl piped in and raised a judgemental eyebrow towards me as I rubbed my chest where I'd smacked into Rick.

"It's from internal lung pressure building up, like if you shake a soda can and pop the top, only imagine your eyes, ears, nose and throat are the top." Caleb explained simply, speaking slower when he turned to me. I merely glared back in somewhat dignified silence.

"It's a sickness…from the walkers?" Bob enquired from the doorway. I hadn't noticed his arrival as I was too busy glaring in disgust. He was a field-medic in the army before the apocalypse, he'd told me some pretty gnarly stories of his time in service.

"No this was around long before them. It could be pneumococcal, most likely an aggressive flu strain." Caleb looked to Hershel who nodded in revered agreement.

"How can somebody just drop dead from a cold?" Daryl drawled.

"I had a sick pig. I saw a dead boar in the woods." Rick rasped.

"Pigs and birds; that's how these things spread in the past." Hershel noted, "We need to do something about those hogs."

"Maybe we got lucky" Bob sighed, "maybe these are just two isolated cases."

"Haven't seen anyone be lucky in a long time." Caleb chipped in, "Bugs like to run through closed quarters. It doesn't get any closer than this."

"All of us in here. We've all been exposed." Hershel added.

* * *

The council convened immediately after the assessment.

"Patrick was fine yesterday and he just died overnight?" Carol posed to the group, "Two people died that quick? We'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cell block. That's all of us." Daryl noted, "Maybe more."

"I'm worried how easy this'll spread. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?" I asked.

"We can't just wait and see." Carol exclaimed, "I mean, there are children. It isn't just the illness. People die they become a threat."

"We need a place for them to go." Hershel said flatly, "They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up."

"We can use cell block A." Carol suggested.

"Death row? Not sure that's much of an upgrade." Glenn sighed.

"It's clean. That's an upgrade. Would that work?" Daryl turned to us.

"We'll get it set up." Hershel nodded to me.

We all spun at the sound of a woman lightly coughing in the hallway. Daryl rose up and we all followed suit. After Karen was essentially banished to quarantine Daryl was lectured by Hershel to wear a mask and gloves when burying the dead.

"You okay?" he asked as he passed me.

I nodded, "You?"

"Gotta be." He uttered, "Come with me a sec, wanna show you something."

"Don't you have a horrendous task to do?" I uttered back dismissively.

"They ain't going nowhere." Daryl grabbed my hand and lead me passed the library our depressing council meeting had adjourned from. He paused at the door a moment before revealing the quiet, dusty study room which sat adjacent to the library. The desks and chairs which formerly littered the room had been pushed against the walls. And there in the middle of the room prominently stood an old punch bag.

I snorted and raised an eyebrow, "Where'd you get this?"

"I figured, instead of squaring up to certain ass-holes amongst us, you could visualise them here." Daryl rasped.

I scoffed as my fingers traced along the stitching of the bag.

"A'right, I gotta get to work, wrap your hands okay?" Daryl winked and left me alone to digest the gift. I stood back and immediately felt a wave of guilt from the wedding party flow through me. Drunken Georgia needed validation that her feelings were reciprocated, it wasn't one-sided. At the end of the day, I'm an idiot. Daryl and I...his actions speak volumes, they always have. I smiled and bit my lip as I began to wrap my hands up securely.

* * *

The fence had almost caved in that day, in amongst the panic and the chaos. It came tremendously close. Daryl told me of how Rick rose up and provided the solution to sacrifice the pigs and drive the walkers away long enough to fortify the fence. He hoped this was the turning point for our leader and he'd slowly retake the reins. After what I'd witnessed in the cell block, I silently hoped so too.

Caleb was first to settle the sick into the cell block and refused to allow Hershel or I entrance. It was incredibly frustrating, and though I'd never admit it out loud, he had a point. Although I was still bitter about the petty surgeon jab, I knew full well I wouldn't be as useful in this specific case. We couldn't afford to all get taken down and he was technically the most experienced doctor...of humans.


	44. Season 4 03: Isolation

"Gonna be sprained at least a week, but none of these cuts need stitches, so there's that." I uttered as I dabbed the blood away, "I uh, wouldn't plan on much typing the next few days." I raised my eyes to receive a chuckle for my hilarious joke, I received nothing. Rick merely winced occasionally as I worked on his hand. "Are you gonna tell me how this happened?" I futilely asked the man, again, he stared forwards, ignoring my words. "Rick, are you okay?" I asked, plainly.

He winced, as if returning from his own little world. "It hurts." He dismissed me.

"I wasn't talking about the hand." I exhaled and began to support his hand with wrappings, "I know we just went through something terrible, and it feels like everything we've been working so hard to keep out, it went and found its way in but-"

"No. It's always there." Rick grumbled vaguely. Our eyes locked in a half-hearted stalemate, before once again he shook me off. Our conversations of late had followed an identical pattern; Rick encasing himself in ever higher walls to deflect any of the consolations I was so eager to provide. I figured in his mind these walls were protecting me also.

"Rick." I finished securing his bandage and held on to his arm, drawing his eyes back to mine, "what aren't you telling me?"

"Council meeting tomorrow morning." Hershel chapped on the door frame and dispersed the tension, "Thought you should know, don't plan out your day, it's a long agenda: 12 lost, 2 more killed in cold blood, and now we could be facing an outbreak."

"Killed in cold blood?" the words were barely audible as they fell from my lips. My mind was sent racing through the possibilities. Killed in cold blood? Murdered? Rick? Why are we so calm?

"I think I've done enough damage for one day." Rick slipped solemnly out of my hands and brushed passed Hershel as if that were a satisfactory close to the conversation. I rose from my seat with the words still trying to find their place and followed Rick out the door. The man didn't answer my call. Daryl, loitering in the hallway, also called after the man, to no avail.

"What happened?" I shook my head straight and caught Daryl's arm as he attempted to follow in Rick's direction.

"Karen and David are dead." He answered as he slipped out of my grasp and carried on walking.

"What the hell happened?" I staggered for a moment before following him.

"Someone killed 'em then burned 'em." Daryl replied matter-of-factly.

"Wh-who...who would?" I muttered.

Daryl stopped so abruptly I almost smacked into him. He turned to face me and uttered, "Ya sort out his hand?"

"Well…yeah, but-"

"Ain't nothing else you can do right now. Let it go." Daryl shook his head and stormed off, leaving me alone in the hallway. There was nothing I could do. As if the empty words were enough to quell the burning frustration. Rick was an absent shell, a murderer roamed our halls, our community was dropping like flies and I was to just…do nothing? Pfft, because these doughnuts clearly had a handle on it? I scowled at the dismissal and returned to Hershel.

"Georgia." Hershel drawled.

I scoffed, "What is happening to this place, Hershel? It's crumbling down around us."

Hershel leant against the door frame and dipped his head to the floor, pensively. He had no answer for me.

* * *

"It's spread. Everyone who survived the attack in cell block D. Sasha, Caleb and now others." Hershel began the meeting on the lightest of notes. Glenn, Daryl, Carol and I joined him around the table as Michonne watched over us from the doorway, in aid of preventing her exposure.

"Oh, Jesus." Daryl sighed and brushed his hands through his hair.

"So what do we do?" Carol asked, adjusting herself sternly in her seat.

"First things first, cell block A is isolation. We keep sick people there like we tried with Karen and David." Hershel stated in exhaustion.

Glenn shakily mopping his brow caught my eye, despite his attempted discretion. His skin was looking especially grey, even for prison lighting.

"What the hell we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked.

"Ask Rick to look into it. Try to make a timeline, who's where when." Carol suggested offhand before pressing on, urgently, "But what are we gonna do to stop this?"

"There is no stopping it." Hershel sighed, "You get it, you have to go through it."

"But it just kills you?" Michonne uttered from the door way.

"The illness doesn't." I cleared my throat and piped in, "The symptoms do."

"We need antibiotics." Hershel asserted.

"We've been through every pharmacy nearby, then some." Daryl drawled.

"The Veterinary college at West Peachtree Tech." Hershel decided, "That's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same ones we need."

"That's 50 miles away." I uttered.

Daryl rasped and rose to his feet, "Too big a risk before, ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time."

"I'm in." Michonne perked up.

"You haven't been exposed. Daryl has. You get in the car with him-" Hershel warned.

"Pfft, he's already given me fleas." Michonne scoffed and dismissed his concern.

"I can lead the way; I know where everything's kept." Hershel rose from the table and staggered on to his crutch. The room fell silent before turning to Daryl to articulate our response.

"When we're out there, it's always the same." Daryl rasped and shook his head, "Sooner or later, we run."

"I could draw you a map." Hershel sighed in agreement.

"I'll take lead then." I offered as I rose up from the table.

"Map'll do." Daryl drawled.

"Daryl." I sighed in frustration.

"The other precautions I feel we should take." Hershel nodded and moved on to the next topic. "There's no knowing how long before Daryl and his group return. Wouldn't it make sense to separate the most vulnerable? We could use the administration building, separate office, separate rooms."

Glenn asked, "And who is the most vulnerable?"

"The very young" Hershel stated matter-of-factly.

"What about the old?" I scoffed as I crossed my arms defiantly across my chest.

* * *

After the meeting, I descended down into the lower field where Tyreese was finishing up burying Karen and David. He threw down his shovel and placed a bracelet over Karen's cross as I tentatively approached him from behind.

"Ty…please let me look at you." I uttered, desperately. I needed to do something of worth for this group, and although I didn't fancy my chances, I would gladly tackle the mountain of a man if needs be. He slowly glanced over his shoulder, exposing his inflamed face and desolate expression. My heart sunk to the pit of my chest, before quickening at the sound of tall grass rustling behind me. I spun to see Rick approaching us.

"I'm sorry about what happened." Rick drawled, "What I did to you. Everything."

"It's on both of us." Tyreese uttered back. It hadn't taken too much detective work to figure out blows were exchanged between the two wincing men, but the reason behind their scuffle still eluded me. I exhaled with purpose as Tyreese continued on, "You got to find who did this."

Rick shifted his weight, pensively, "I didn't know David much. Did either of you? Did anyone have a problem with him or Karen?"

"No." Tyreese barked definitively, "No way. I was with her every day. She got a long with everybody. Same with David."

"He…he was a good guy; from what I could gather." I uttered quietly. I'd in truth only had a few exchanges with the man, but he struck me as kind-hearted and always made an effort with everybody.

"They were the only two who were sick." Rick noted and gently posed, "The person who did it might have been trying to stop this thing from spreading."

"They didn't." Tyreese shot him down with a dark tone, "Now Sasha has it."

"Ty, whoever did this, they're not going anywhere." I piped up, trying to claw his heated gaze away from Rick, "We'll find them."

"Today? Right now?" Tyreese barked, "Because I'm not feeling the urgency, Sheriff. All I see you doing is pumping water. In fact, what I'm picking up is, murder is okay in this place now."

"No. It is not." Rick seethed through gritted teeth.

"We have to save lives first." I reached out to brush the man's arm but he jerked back.

"From the side lines." He coldly stared back at me. His words hit a raw nerve.

"We have to keep this place going." Rick stepped forwards.

"You worry about that. I'll worry about what's right." Tyreese uttered darkly before storming off back up to the prison.

I turned to face Rick who was beginning to storm off after giving Tyreese a sufficient head start.

"Hey." I barked, "What's your plan?"

He merely sighed and gestured a floppy dismissive arm in my direction as he continued on.

* * *

"Georgie?!" I heard Hannah's tiny voice from behind the door.

"Banana, I'm sorry I couldn't get back here in time to see you. I needed to fix up Ty. Are you okay?" I pressed my hand against the frosted glass and my niece did the same. She periodically moved it and I would trace it back and catch it.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Mika's really sad that Lizzie's not here. How long do we have to be here?"

"It won't be long, nana, just a little while longer."

"Daryl will bring back the medicine for Lizzie, Mika." I heard Beth soothing the little girl.

"Thank you, for being in there, Beth, you don't have to be. It means a lot you being in there with Judith…and the girls." I called to Beth.

"Things okay out there?" she asked.

"Maggie?" I spun when I heard her arrive.

"Maggie? What's wrong?" Beth ran over to the door.

"Glenn has it." Maggie sniffed.

"Maggie? We don't get to be upset." Beth replied, "We all got jobs to do, that's what daddy always says. Daryl and Michonne will get the meds, and you and Georgia and Rick will help everyone get better. And I will take care of Judith. Just focus on what you have to do. No matter what happens, we'll deal with it. We have to."

I squeezed Maggie's hand.

* * *

I leant against the side of the car as Daryl tinkered under the hood. I was finishing the final medicine list in order of importance and exhaled loudly.

Daryl poked his head out momentarily and raised an eyebrow.

"You are helping." He drawled before returning to his tinkering.

I scoffed in reply, and imitated punching, "Uh huh. I'll be thinking about you later."

"How I like it." Daryl winked and laughed.

"Everything look alright?" Bob approached the car with gas canisters.

"Yeah. Zack kept this thing running pretty good." Daryl slammed the hood down.

"This is Zack's car?" Bob raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah. Fastest one we got." Daryl turned to face the man, "You all right?"

"You really want me coming along?" Bob stated directly. I'd grown to like that about the man. There was no beating around the bush, no dancing around what was bothering him, he was straight to the point. I think Daryl respected him more for it.

Daryl took the list of medication I was mid-amending and pointed to a random item, "What's that word?"

"Zanamivir." Bob read aloud.

"Yep. We need ya." Daryl stuffed the paper in Bob's hands, slapped his shoulder and wandered over to Tyreese who was approaching.

"They're actually in order of importance, but of course, you know what you're doing, so I'll head back in." I awkwardly passed the pen over to Bob who smiled kindly back but looked as though he wanted to say more. I loitered a moment more.

"You really shouldn't let him get to you, or think he can diminish your worth." Bob advised.

"Who?" I folded my arms against my body.

"Caleb. You amputated Hershel's leg with next to nothing. It's damn impressive." Bob grinned, "He's a threatened smart-ass, it's all he has, just play the Harvard card, that'll knock him down a peg."

I laughed and continued on, "That's not really my style. Have a safe trip."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and sauntered up towards the gate. I passed Tyreese who greeted me with a nod, he had evidently decided to tag along on the expedition.

"Why aren't you in quarantine?" Maggie stormed past me and bee-lined straight for her father who was sneaking towards cell block A gripping a large wooden box.

"Hershel! What the hell?!" I stormed after her, mirroring her disapproval. If I had to play the useless spare part, so did he!

"I'm no good to anyone in there." Hershel continued relentlessly until Maggie blocked his path.

"Daddy, please." Maggie seethed.

"Maggie, dear, there are people in there, suffering. I can bring their fever down and get them stable."

"Daryl is bringing the antibiotics."

"Some of these people won't last 12 hours."

"I can't let you do this."

"Maggie. Glenn's in there." Hershel uttered and her face fell in response.

"What's going on?" Rick sauntered over towards the commotion.

"Elderberries. My wife used to make tea with them. They're a natural flu remedy. Caleb's too sick to help, I can. There's so many times we haven't been able to anything to change what was happening, what was happening to us. We wished we could, but we couldn't. This time, I can. I know I can. So I have to." Hershel spoke with a passion I sorely related to.

"Hershel, if you go in there, you're gonna get sick, you're gonna put your own-" Rick reasoned.

"Hershel, please, let me! I might be less susceptible." I pleaded but went ignored.

"We don't know that." Hershel dismissed, "What we do know is that these people's symptoms need to be controlled. There's only so much we can do through glass doors. We will still have Georgia standing."

"What is this fixation with last doctor standing? What use is medical knowledge and expertise if it's sitting out getting rusty?" I ranted.

"Hershel, please. We can wait!" Rick implored Hershel.

"Listen dammit!" Hershel dropped down the wooden box and became increasingly animated, "You step outside; you risk your life! You take a drink of water; you risk your life! And nowadays, you breathe, and you risk your life! Every moment now, you don't have a choice. The only thing you can choose is what you're risking it for! Now I can make these people feel better and hang on a little bit longer. I can save lives. That's reason enough to risk mine. And you know that."

Hershel propped his mask over his face and did what he had to do.

"Dad…" Maggie stormed in front of him and opened the door.


	45. Season 4 04: Indifference and Internment

"Hey. Let me help with that." I walked over to Rick who was roughly wrapping a new bandage around his knuckles.

"I got it." Rick drawled and didn't make eye contact.

I grabbed the bandage out of his hands and took over regardless, growing too tired of his dismissals, "Let me."

He sighed and gave in, allowing me to dress his hand much more delicately.

"When did you stop confiding in me?" I uttered, attempting to mask the hurt, "You used to tell me everything, trust me."

"You've always had me on a pedestal. It was never on you to fix me, Peach." He raised his eyes up to mine and exhaled, "I'm going out on a run, with Carol." I was in truth a little taken aback hearing more than a mere grunt from the man.

"Shouldn't you be here, trying to…figure out the whole murder mystery?" I finished wrapping up his hand and he merely maintained his stern eye contact with me, dragging me along to the conclusion I was fiercely resisting. It was certainly laced within the words I'd exchanged with the woman, in her aspiration to protect the ones she loved, but still I struggled to accept it.

I stepped back and uttered, "you really think that?"

He made a noncommittal noise before articulating, "She told me."

"What are you gonna do?" I uttered quietly, uncertain whether I wanted an answer.

"I'm going on a run."

* * *

Maggie and I were taking down the walkers on the fence to keep our minds busy. She told me about her visit to her father. Hershel was still in good spirits and told her that Caleb was making the terrible patient doctors were famed to be. Glenn was resting after helping Hershel tend to the patients. It boded well that Glenn was able to support Hershel on his duties. Maggie had begged her father to let her in to help, but he'd squashed that idea firmly. We bonded over a shared frustration with helplessness. Her stories were intermittent between spouts of taking down walkers. We were getting weary, the build-up was on a completely different scale to the last one and there was only the two of us working on it. Our weary bodies were granted reprieve as we saw the trusty Hyundai speeding towards the prison.

"Oh, thank god!" I dropped the battered pipe and ran towards the gates. Maggie sprinted after me and helped heave the mechanism open.

"There's only one person in that car." Maggie uttered to me, half-heartedly. I honestly hadn't noticed in the haze of my exhausted elation, "Georgia. There's only one."

"Carl? Judith? Are they okay?" Rick erupted from the car and ran towards us.

"Yeah, they're fine." I uttered back to the desperate father.

"Where's Carol?" Maggie looked around, half waiting for her to rise from the back seat. Perhaps she'd enjoyed a nice long nap on the drive back here.

"Glenn? Hershel? Sasha?" Rick dismissed her question with further questions.

"Yeah. It's bad but they're fighting it. Daryl's not back yet." Maggie filled the man in, and her voice raised towards the end, "Rick. Rick? Where's Carol?"

Rick stopped his stomp back towards the car, faltered as if debating whether or not to impart with the truth, and uttered, "It was her. She killed Karen and David. She's was trying to stop it from spreading. Tyreese is gonna be back here soon so I didn't think she should be here. And I couldn't have her here. She has a car, supplies, she'll figure it out. I'll tell your dad. Don't tell anyone else yet."

"Okay." Maggie stuttered.

"Would you have brought her back?" Rick turned to question me directly. I looked back at the man coldly. He wasn't looking for assurance that he'd done the right thing, he was looking for acceptance that we'd understood his rationale.

"She…she said she did it?" Maggie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Rick drawled.

"You were right to send her away." Maggie piped up, "I don't know if I could have."

"You coulda Maggie. You've done harder things. Don't doubt yourself. We don't get to anymore." Rick uttered under his breath as he returned to the Hyundai.

"Rick! The cluster's getting bigger than the one that took the fence down, we need to do something!" I barked at him as he stormed off.

"We will!" He barked back and drove away.

* * *

Rick implemented giant logs to prop up the fences and provide that extra support until we had the man-power to deal with the problem. It was a stable intervention from the minds of those running on borrowed time. I stared back at the grasping, snarling faces behind the fence with tired eyes.

"I talked to Hershel." Rick broke the silence between the three of us, "He looks good, all things considered."

"If Carl was sick would you be up there with him?" Maggie asked.

"If I thought I could help." Rick replied.

"You don't think I can help?" Maggie asked. Rick paused for a moment. A walker seized the prime opportunity and grasped Rick's ankle. He tumbled to the ground, and though in no imminent danger, Maggie snatched up an axe and chopped the walker's hand clean off.

"I'm just glad you're out here with us." Rick scoffed as I pulled him back up to his feet.

Maggie continued hammering in one of the logs as Rick took me to one side.

"I've been living in denial. I realise that." Rick drawled, "I'm sorry for…being absent."

"You know, you said I keep you on a pedestal. You're right." I squinted in the setting sun and paused for a moment, "But that's what little sisters are supposed to do, Rick. You're my brother, I know you, I'm with you, I trust you. I've trusted you in everything you've done, and nothing's changed, I still do. Everything else might've changed, but family…hasn't."

I saw a glimmer of a long-forgotten man before me and my heart felt an ounce lighter. Rick pulled me in to a close embrace and wrapped his arms around me tightly. The weight in my heart alleviated, almost as if I'd mentally exhaled a large portion of what worried me dearly. I felt stability and grounded again as he held me close. "Naw, nothing's changed." He drawled as he kissed the top of my head.

The chilling gunshot rang out through the grounds. Our heads collectively snapped towards the prison. We broke apart instantly and after Rick nodded I began running towards the yard.

Rick paused before turning to Maggie, "Go!"

"The fence is more important we need to keep it standing." I heard Maggie continue to chop logs as the two quarrelled.

Maggie caught up with me, just as I was sprinting into the quarantine zone. The gunshots had echoed throughout the grounds, making it difficult to pinpoint their exact origin, but really, they could only have come from one place.

"DAD! OPEN THE DOOR!" Maggie smacked against the solid entrance door. She thrashed her axe against the impenetrable glass, to no avail. Damn, prison security. She screamed out in frustration as the axe snapped in half, wedged into the door frame.

"Maggie! This way!" I grabbed her arm and dragged her around the corner. We sprinted around to an exam room and I fired a shot to shatter the weaker glass. Desperately, we scrambled up through the window and into the cell. We were in. The scene was reminiscent of the initial outbreak but on a slightly smaller scale. Patients had turned and taken down others, people were cowering at the back of their cells, screaming for help.

"DADDY!" Maggie cried out as we dispatched the immediately dangerous walkers on the lower level. Some walkers snarled behind the bars of their cells.

"UP THERE!" I called out to Maggie as a walker scrambled towards me. Maggie's eyes were drawn up to Hershel, wrestling with what looked like Henry on the upstairs safety netting. I slammed my dagger into the walker's eye and threw her to the ground as Maggie aimed up towards the wrestling pair. I staggered back and watched with my heart in my throat. There's really only one person I'd trust to make that shot.

"NO!" Hershel bellowed, "You could hit the bag! We need it for Glenn!"

I began for the stairs, intent on finding Glenn, as Maggie wrestled with the impossible choice before her. I snapped my head back as she audibly decided, the sound of a single shot rattled throughout the cellblock. The snarling cut off abruptly and slumped against the netting. Hershel sat back, exhausted. She'd done it.

"Where is he?!" I shouted up to Hershel as I ascended the stairs, double-time.

"He's up here." Hershel panted and wrestled with the intubation bag, "Cell 100."

I slammed down to my knees and tended to Glenn, rolling him onto his side to clear his airway first. Maggie had matched my speed up the stairs, snatched the bag from Hershel and almost throwing it into my hands.

"He's turning blue!" She screamed out.

"Help me! On his back!" I struggled with the distressed, spluttering body and directed Maggie, "Hold his arms down. Hershel!" Hershel had arrived at the cell and helped Maggie subdue Glenn as I rapidly tore a new tube out of its packet.

"Come on, son! Come on. You know how this works!" Hershel soothed the man as he writhed in agony. I fed the tube down Glenn's windpipe blindly and nodded to Hershel the second it was successfully administered. I slammed the bag onto the tube and began pulsing the air into his lungs, sighing in relief as Glenn's chest rhythmically rose and fell and his distress dissipated.

"It's okay, bud. That's it." I sighed in his ear. His eyes fell upon Maggie's tear-filled ones and eventually closed.

"Stay with us…" Hershel uttered repeatedly.

"You're gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay." Maggie cried into his chest.

After a while, all of our heartbeats returned to regularity and I'd gathered myself breathing in rhythm to the intubation bag. Hershel caressed his daughters arm and sighed, "I didn't want you in here. I didn't want either of you in here."

"I know." Maggie whimpered and I nodded in unison, "We had to. Just like you."

Hershel smiled warmly at his daughter and kissed her forehead.

"I told you to stay put." Hershel uttered to Lizzie as she appeared at the cell door. I hadn't even heard her tiny footsteps; I was so enthralled in Glenn's condition.

"Is it over?" Lizzie whispered sombrely.

"I hope so, honey." Maggie squeezed the little girls hand.

Mere moments afterwards, the commotion outside indicated the return of Daryl's crew.

Hershel took the bag from my hands and instructed Maggie and I to go help. Maggie eventually followed me down the stairs, reluctant to leave Glenn's side. I opened the heavy bolt on the door just in time for Tyreese to burst through it and scamper to Sasha's cell. Her faint, weak voice guided him to her. "They're just coming!" Tyreese bellowed as he passed me.

Bob and I got to work administering the medication, as Maggie dispatched the last of the snarling walkers behind their bars. She eventually ran back up to Glenn and relieved her father for some well-deserved rest. IVs and antibiotics were distributed around to the surviving patients, we all worked well into the night. The recovery process was slow and steady, both throughout the patient's ward and, as I would later learn, in cleaning up the carnage at the fences.

* * *

"Mornin' Sunshine." Daryl rasped as he tapped my shoulder. I startled awake and rubbed my eyes, an IV bag dropped into my lap in the process, confusing me further. I must have fallen asleep in the hallway, I'd been going over everything, taking a moment to decompress in the silence. Apparently, I was cuddling an IV bag too, fair enough, I scoffed to myself.

"How was your day at the office?" I cleared my throat and cricked my sore neck.

"Well. Tried to reason with Michonne, tell her the trail's dead, think she took that on-board. We lost Tyreese for a while when the car got stuck in a Walker swamp, then he went all beast-mode, took down 20, easy, by himself." Daryl made his way around and perched himself on the railing in front of me. I re-adjusted my position at the mention of a walker swamp. I decided against pressing for further information, perhaps it was better I didn't know exactly what happened there.

"Bob showed some colours, but I think we settled it." Daryl rasped.

"With words?" I said flatly.

Daryl chuckled, "'Course. Had to hot-wire a car outta there."

"Impressive."

"Sweaty work, you'da loved it." He laughed.

"It's gonna be different now, ain't it?" I said in a small voice and broke the relatively jovial tone we'd enjoyed. I extended a hand, hoping he'd help my exhausted body to rise.

Daryl took a moment before offering his hand and releasing an "I guess."

"You knew…about Carol?" I asked as I found my footing and stretched out my back.

He nodded. I folded my arms instinctively and leant against the wall behind me,

"It's no longer about just plodding along and hoping for the best. Carol's gone, we're protecting 'assets'. I felt so helpless and ultimately, useless. Rick used to trust my instincts, but he didn't even trust his own, so I let myself fall along the wayside. Caleb kept these people going. That should've been me." My eyes drifted down the stairs to see trails of blood where the bodies had been dragged outside.

"Don't say that." He shook his head and avoided eye contact with me.

"I can't help it; I'm a damn doctor, I can't shake this feeling I could've done more." I shook my head.

"You can be kamikaze doctor next time." He uttered, touchily and turned to walk away.

"Daryl?" I followed him as he headed towards the stairs. "HEY!"

He turned at my yell.

"Damnit, I love you! Alright? So no, I'm glad you didn't charge in head first AGAIN, and get yourself killed. Walkers, super bugs, whatever. It was for the good of everyone. This was no one's fault. You've saved Hershel's life, Carl getting shot, Beth topping herself. I get it, watching people suffer is hard. But no, you can't say shit like that."

I stepped forward tentatively, touched his face gently, and met his pained gaze. "I'm sorry."  
He nodded and left abruptly. I should have said it right then but the words sat there motionless. I was caught off guard. I should have called after him, but my mind was swimming in my own stupidity. I wasn't mad at him anymore; I hadn't been for a long time. If I'd have known what was to happen next, I would have shouted it from the top of my lungs.


	46. Season 4 05: Too Far Gone

Our community was steadily finding its feet again. Glenn was out of the woods; all the patients were well on their way to 100%. I finished feeding Judith and joined her on the floor, playing with her toys. She was passing me each of her wooden blocks and clapping every time. I thanked her profusely for her wonderful gifts. Her cheeky grin made my own cheeks hurt from smiling. She truly was a gift, a ray of sunshine piercing through our darkest days. My heart experienced a twinge at the thought of Lori, how she would have adored everything about this baby girl.

I was dramatically yanked out of my distant thoughts by a tremendous thundering rumble. We heard the explosions next and immediately she started crying. I picked up the small child and comforted her desperately as I darted over to the window and saw a legion of cars lined up along the outside of the fence. It took many, many moments to process what was happening. My eyes fell upon it; a freaking tank had parked itself outside our fence. I grabbed binoculars from the nearby desk with my free arm. My stomach sunk. My heart sunk. I saw the Governor.

"Shit." I whispered.

I looked and saw Hannah standing with Beth and Maggie, everyone had gathered. I looked back over to the Governor and saw Hershel and Michonne shoved to the ground, their hands tied behind their backs.  
The most sickening, draining, horrific feeling engulfed me. Something was about to happen that would change our world forever. This was no request to join our tea party. This was no schoolyard squabble. This was war. My heart ached. I put Judith down on a bed and started stuffing a backpack with her formula and other nearby necessities. I was on auto-pilot, running as fast I could, praying to any deity I wouldn't hear more fire power.

I grabbed my pistol and all of my ammo from the drawer. I shoved the gun into its holder after checking to see if it was full. I shoved the ammo in the bag and noticed Hershel's shotgun propped up in the rack. I made a mental note to grab it on the way out and started to wrestle my way into Judith's sling. I picked up the restless baby and placed her inside; I fixed her hat and pulled the hood of her hoodie over her delicate head. I didn't know what I was doing, instincts just took over as I scrambled about. I was shoving the backpack on, and racing back over to the window. I grabbed the binoculars once again and saw that Rick was now talking before the Governor. My eyes raced back over to where Hannah, Beth and Maggie had stood. Hannah was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was now decked out with high-powered guns but that did not lessen my worry at all. The Governor had a freaking tank for crying out loud!

I saw Sasha heading into the prison, probably to warn the others. I thought about doing the same. I was so unsure of what to do. I couldn't take myself away. I was transfixed on the spot, waiting…waiting for it all to begin. I watched as the Governor shot some walkers that were coming near the fence. Who are these people? We were outrageously outnumbered.

The Governor jumped down from the tank, grabbed Michonne's katana and put the sword to Hershel's neck. I held Judith close to me. I felt the tears tremble and fall, a few splashed onto her head.

"Please, no! Oh god, please no!" I begged from inside, but it was useless. He couldn't hear me.

Rick made some gestures as he talked to the Governor and his group. But then he raised Michonne's sword and brought it down on Hershel.

"Gaaah!" I released the wail and fell down to my knees, dropping the binoculars. I gripped Judith tighter and she started to whimper at the sudden descent. The warfare erupted. Everyone started shooting. It was deafening. I glanced down at the tiny child strapped to my chest, she was holding onto me, sobbing. I shook my head. _Get it together, Georgia Walsh. Judith needs you._ I stood up shakily. _Oh god, Hannah needs you! She's out there_!

I looked outside one more time, watching the tank break down the fence like tissue paper. I searched feverishly for my girl for a few seconds before I knew I needed to be down there. I couldn't see anything! I grabbed Hershel's shotgun and ran.

"Where's Hannah?" I grabbed the arm of a Woodbury woman who ran by.

"She's on the bus." She answered, shaking me off before running out, "Get everyone to the bus!"

The wall at the end of the block blew up and caved in. I screamed and staggered while covering Judith. Debris had blown out against my back; I shielded the little girl, holding her tightly against me. I steadied myself, brushing away the debris as my ears rang out. I ran outside, I couldn't hear Judith whimpering, but I felt her tiny hands latched on to my sides. I raised the shotgun, wincing at the radiating pain in my ribs; I was ready. There was smoke everywhere, dense thick smoke. I couldn't find Hannah, Daryl, Rick, Carl, anyone.

"Daryl!" I yelled, "Hannah! Carl! Rick!"

My eyes fell on the little girls, Mika and Lizzie running towards me, pistols in their hands.

"I'm sorry, Georgia." Mika was crying hysterically, "I'm so sorry!"

"Carol told us to be strong. We had to protect ourselves." Lizzie stated, unapologetically.

"It's fine! Come with me!" I yelled as we covered our heads and ran behind an open door. "We need to get out of here. To the bus, okay? Hannah's on that bus! Keep your guns raised, on my count-"

Lizzie raised her gun and fired a single shot which flew right by my head. I spun round in shock to witness a woman fall to the ground, a bullet embedded in her brain. I spun back around to see Lizzie's cold, unwavering gaze.

"I'm sorry, she was going to get you." She stated plainly.

"I-I…that's okay, on my count, sprint to the bus, I will cover you both, but we have to go now, okay?" We all span in horror to watch the bus screeching away. This literally could not get any worse. All of my nightmares were collapsing in on me. As our odds continued to dwindle something spread throughout me, igniting fury, this was not game over, this isn't how we end; I turned and looked directly into their eyes. "BACK! We run. Now! Girls! GO!"

My mind was racing as I ran. Everything was destroyed and falling around us. I ran out in front of the girls, clearing the path before us. There were so many of them. I had all angles to cover; desperately I searched every face we passed. Where was everyone? Rick? Carl? I hoped with every inch of my being that they had made it onto the bus. Little Hannah; I prayed that Daryl had thrown her onto that bus. I felt an overwhelming surge of guilt, had I done enough? With busted ribs and 3 small lives to protect I knew we couldn't have possibly progressed further through that, but it didn't help the feeling. We'd cleared the tree line, headed in the direction that we'd stashed the car the last time we'd encountered the Governor, the only real landmark I could think of. I stopped to gather my breath once convinced we were far enough out and took one last glance back at the prison. Our home, engulfed in smoke and fire, saturated in walkers. It was over.

"Don't look back." I uttered painfully to the sisters as I held Judith close to my chest, "Keep going."


	47. Season 4 06: Inmates

"Girls, stop just a…" I winced painfully, "Just a second."

I set Judith down next to Mika, who was still sobbing her tiny sobs. Her sister commanded her not to cry. We had to abandon our initial hiding spot sooner than we'd have liked, it wasn't safe. We'd been pushed further out through necessity. Now that I was satisfied we were far enough away, I had to answer to my ribs, they were crying out on their own. With a dense pile of fallen trees to cover our backs, I wrestled out of my denim shirt and turned away from the girls, pulling up my vest to inspect what I'd feared. My right side was heavily bruised and darkened, definitely a dislocated rib or two. I lowered the vest back down, tentatively and tied the shirt around the area as tight as possible, stifling the tears.

"I want Carol." Mika whimpered. I focussed heavily on suppressing the pain searing throughout my ribs. I repositioned Judith's wrap over my chest, tightened the straps for further support and lowered the baby girl inside. Okay, that's a little better. I think I can do this now.

"She ain't here. Put this in your belt." Lizzie handed her little sister a dagger from the backpack and turned back to me, "It's gonna get dark soon. Where are we going now?"

She stood in front of my path and I whispered, "Further. Come on."

"Is everybody dead?" Lizzie asked, point blank. I ignored her question and stepped around her, ploughing onwards. I reached out for Mika's hand, which she ran up to and grasped onto tightly.

"Is your arm okay?" Mika crouched down next to me, as I sat next to the fire, lightly assessing the burn on my arm for the first time. I nodded in reply. Darkness had rapidly descended. I had rummaged through the backpack for the umpteenth time, but bandages had still not magically materialised. Baby formula, a bottle, a box of bullets and two diapers were the only items I'd been able to grab amongst the chaos. I had however somehow grabbed a bandana of Daryl's in the mix, and decided to wrap the fabric securely around my burned arm. It would have to do.

"We're lucky we ran into you." Mika winced looking at the burn.

"And I, you, baby girl." I smiled and wrapped an arm around her, embraced her tightly. Ignoring my screaming ribs for the moment as I knew Mika needed reassurance more. Baby Judith chose a prime moment to begin to stir and then wail.

"They're gonna hear her!" Mika whined and bolted upright to attention.

"We shouldn't be out here." Lizzie piped up from the other side of the small fire and rose to her feet defiantly.

"We'll find a safe place soon. We will." I uttered starkly to them both, "Here, you go baby girl." I rocked Judith in my arms and fed her a bottle, her tears subsided and she was content once again, allowing me to exhale, for mere moments. Our hearts pounded as we desperately focussed on the quiet forest surrounding us. Twigs snapped in the distance. Mika sprung up to her feet, shakily whimpering, "Walkers!"  
Shit, I muttered under my breath. I chucked the bottle in the backpack and subsequently into Mika's hands. "Lizzie, fire!" I rasped and she kicked dirt over the small fire, smothering the flame. "Come on, let's go! It's okay!" I whispered as I pulled Judith into her sling and led the way further into the woods.

We were dead on our feet. We'd spent the entire night trudging through the woodland, tripping over ourselves and hushing the grumblings radiating from our stomachs. A new day was breaking, sunlight was streaming through the leaves once more. We'd somehow survived the night.

"Look, grapes!" Mika's tone of relief was palpable. "Can we eat them?" her wide eyes sprung to mine.

"Yeah, they look alright." I smiled warmly and continued in my futile attempts to calm Judith down.

"They're gonna hear her!" Mika cried out with a mouthful of grapes as Judith continued to fuss and wail out. I mentally thanked Mika for telling me what I already knew.

"Hand me a diaper, Lizzie." I hissed as I lowered the baby girl down to the ground. She was really going to town on those screams. Hastily I changed her diaper but she was still distressed, hollering for walkers all around.

"Come on, baby girl. It's alright. Hey, you're okay! What do you need?" I soothed the sobbing child.

The snaps nearby jarred us all to attention. Mika screamed and grabbed my arm in panic, precisely where the burn was, I cried out in pain, it stung like a bitch. "I heard it, Mika!"

"Don't yell at her! She doesn't understand walkers!" Lizzie shouted over Judith's cries.

"You're the one who doesn't understand them!" Mika screamed back at her sister.

"Girls! Not helping. QUIET." I seethed as sternly and quietly as I could. Birds rattled out of the bush in front of Mika causing her to bolt like a startled horse.

"Mika!" I hissed after her. "Goddammit." I scooped up Judith and our belongings and sprinted after her. I cursed the behaviour of the two internally, riling each other up and darting into the woods. They were going to get themselves killed. I thought back on Sophia in these desperate moments, how we hadn't equipped her, how we'd kept her in a bubble. It does no good. Hannah…I'd taught her how to trip them, how to use her size to her advantage, when to run, how to throw them off your trail…these girls had spent their time holed up in Woodbury, living normal lives. I needed to help them, not baby them.

"You yelled at her! You yelled and now she's gone!" Lizzie spat after me.  
Eventually Mika sprung out from her hiding place and we all collectively crapped our pants.

"I got scared." She whimpered.

"That's okay, bab-" I stumbled into the word baby, and caught myself in the act. As I wiped the tears from her cheek, I uttered, "Mika, we all get scared. You did the right thing, running."

"What?" Lizzie spat.

"She did." I nodded, "You hear or see a walker, you run. But when you're in a group, you gotta try to stay close to them, okay? We don't wanna lose you. We're looking out for each other, okay?"

She nodded and smiled at Judith reaching out for her. She grabbed her tiny hand and noticed my arm. "You're bleeding! Was that me?" she uttered sadly.

"No." I shook my head and lied as I readjusted the bandana, "It was a lot worse at the prison, it's fine now."

"I'm sorry, I know I'm not like Lizzie." She sighed.

"Don't be sorry. You both do things your own way, and you both get it done, like every member of our group."

"Like you and Daryl?" she smirked and giggled, "Hannah said he was your boyfriend and your total opposite."

I was about to reply with a hearty "Sure" but Lizzie cut me off with, "You can't be like Daryl or Hannah." She had no emotion in her tone. This troubled me more than her words themselves.

"How not?" her sister pouted.

"Because you're still here, and they aren't." Lizzie uttered, matter-of-factly.

I didn't have time to digest Lizzie's dulcet tone, a woman shrieked fiercely in the nearby distance. I couldn't pinpoint who the voice belonged to. But I had to get there. Men were roaring in that direction, she wasn't alone. I may have some time. I passed Judith down to Lizzie and pushed the girls back to back.

"You stay like this and keep watch, from both directions!" I ordered them both.

"You're leaving us?" Mika cried and gripped onto me as the woman screamed out again.

"They may be from the prison. I need to help them!" I reasoned with her, though to no avail.

"We need you!" she cried out in desperation.

"Mika, tuck your shirt behind your knife so it's easier to grab." Lizzie commanded. "We'll be okay."

The woman cried out once more. Her shrieks shattered through me, "What do you do when you see a walker?" I levelled down to Mika as I handed her my pistol and dragged my knife out of my belt.  
"Run!" she sobbed in unison with her sister's more stoic tone.

"Together!" I ordered, "Towards me, only fire if you have to! You stay right here until I get back, okay?"

"Please, please don't go!" Mika cried after me as I rose up to leave them.

"Mika. Look at me, you can handle this. You are tough." I grabbed her shoulders quickly before she relinquished her grasp and allowed me to sprint off in the woman's direction.

I stumbled upon a railway line, not too far from the girls, and located the woman responsible for the shrieks. The shrieks had dissipated moments before I'd arrived. She lay strewn over another woman; she'd been shielding her, now dead, being devoured by a walker.

"Chris, head for the woods!" a man with a crowbar shouted over the snarls.

"I can't!" he barked and smacked a walker's skull in with a bat. I sprinted towards Chris and shoved away a walker headed right for his flesh, penetrating its skull brutally with my dagger. We were outnumbered, the two men and I. I ducked as a walker swung its heavy arms my way and it fell to the ground, allowing a swift dispatch. Somewhere in the scuffle; Chris went down under two walkers. I fiercely eliminated each one, in vain; he was already bit and bleeding out horrifically.

The gunshot rang throughout the woods. The girls! I sprung up and slayed a walker that was creeping up behind me, I wrestled it to the ground and ended it, desperately clambering over it. As I gasped and rose up, I called out to the last remaining man, "WATCH OUT!" but again, I was too late. A walker sunk its teeth into the man's neck and ripped it apart. I shoved the walker off, and smashed it down through rage-filled tears, as the man slumped to his knees, crawling towards Chris.

"GEORGIA!" I heard Tyreese's thunderous voice call out from behind me. I whipped around, panting, exhausted. The tears were flowing like a malicious river now, something between hysterical elation, relief and blubbering spilled out. He ran over to me and caught me before I too fell to the ground.

"You're okay?" he wiped the blood splatters off my cheek. I nodded shakily and stifled back the tears. As we rose up, I caught glimpse of who was standing with the girls, Carol. Carol…was with Tyreese? How had she found him? There was no time for deduction, she passed Judith to Lizzie as I ran towards her and embraced her tightly.

"How'd you find us?" I asked as we broke apart and wiped my tears with my sleeve. "Where were you?"

The sole man's sobs stirred us and we both headed to join Tyreese at the man's knees. We instructed the girls to stay back but they followed us regardless, Mika clung to my leg.

"Stay on the tracks." The man sobbed over his son's body and glanced around at the massacre around him, "That was my mistake."

"But the woods have more cover." Carol stated.

"No. You don't understand. There's a place up the tracks. It's safe. You can take the children there. Trust me. Please. Follow the tracks." He sobbed.

"Do you…want-" I took my pistol out of Mika's little hands and presented it to the man.

"No, darlin'. Don't waste your bullets on me." His blank expression fell into his son's chest and he sobbed ferociously. Mika's grip on my leg dispersed and Tyreese tugged gently on my arm to follow him. He had Mika in one hand, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders for the initial stagger away from the man and up onto the railway track. Carol, toting Judith, followed Lizzie's lead up ahead. Under the support of Tyreese, I exhaled; that could have been us back there, it was just damn luck that separated us.

"Georgie?" Mika piped up a little further down the line and changed sides to take my hand. "I didn't run. I didn't leave Lizzie." She beamed up at me and I smiled in return.

"She's one tough little lady." Tyreese smiled.

"Hey, there's some water in there." Carol offered her backpack and Tyreese helped her shuffle out of it. "And some food."

"Do you have any…" I winced and grabbed my side. "Any bandages? Prison wall kind of got propelled at me."

Carol rushed to my side as I revealed my injury. She immediately dropped Judith in Tyreese's arms and rummaged for some supplies, she was incredibly kitted out. The sheer relief upon her producing compression bandages was indescribable. I advised her to wrap it as tight as she could. I felt a lot more secure, and solid with her work, even exhaling was less of a chore.

Tyreese had dished out the spoils to the girls first and then to me with a hearty, "Here you go!"

I retold the tale of how we'd escaped from the prison as Carol dressed and sterilised my burn. The night we'd spent slept out in the open, hopelessly lost, dreading Judith summoning the walkers. I told them of how I honestly didn't expect to make it much longer, alone, and how goddam glad I was to stumble upon them.

"Your ribs are busted, your arms all burnt. That baby girl and these children barely have a scratch on them." Tyreese squeezed my shoulder as I sipped the water slowly, enjoying the clear crisp taste. Oh god, it was so…magical.

I coughed and cleared my throat, whilst shaking my head, "It was…hell."

"Ya know I didn't see you get out." Tyreese turned to Carol and she turned to me. I gave nothing away and stood in silence. I was honestly to busy relishing the brief reprieve. I was so fatigued.

"I wasn't there. I hadn't gotten back yet. Rick and I found a car. He took what we had back to the prison, while I... I kept looking." She lied through her teeth.

"Did you see it?" Tyreese took a sip of the water I'd handed back to him.

"I saw the end." She uttered with a pained look on her face.

"Did you see the others? Escaping?" I accepted the water bottle back from Tyreese and took a final valiant sip. As soon as the words fell from my lips, I perked up a bit, desperate for an answer.

"No. I only saw Tyreese running into the woods, I couldn't see anyone else. He was far away. I lost him for a while, but-" she swallowed.

"You found us." Mika smiled.

"I knew you would." Lizzie patted her arm.

"You must've been…one of the last to leave." I handed the bottle back to Carol and her face fell in agreement. Tyreese turned to Carol and desperately asked, "Hey, maybe we can circle back and find your car?"

"The walkers, and the fire…you can't go back to a graveyard." Her voice wavered. Her words summoned the last glance of our home; she was right, there was nothing left for us there.

"Look!" Lizzie called ahead and beckoned us over to a signpost. A map of the surrounding area had "Terminus" etched across it. "Sanctuary for all; community for all; those who arrive survive." She read the poster aloud.  
The adults looked amongst each other and smiled lightly. Okay then, we had our direction.


	48. Season 4: 07: The Grove

An old rickety railway bridge was our home for the night. Tyreese and Mika were curled up in the dusty tracks, snoring away. Carol was smearing some pine resin on my burn and wrapping it up securely.

"Does it hurt?" Lizzie whispered. I jumped a little at her approach, I thought she'd been sleeping.

"A little stingy; the resin will prevent a nasty infection though, keep a fever down." I grimaced.

"You can sleep Lizzie, we're okay." Carol placed the finishing touches on my dressing.

"If there's trouble, I can take Judith away. I can help." Lizzie whispered.

"You think the two of us can't handle it?" Carol raised an eyebrow.

"I know you can, ma'am. But Miss Georgia is hurt." She uttered.

"I'm just fine now, Lizzie, don't you worry about me, okay?" I patted my arm and exhaled. I cradled Judith in my arms and settled down for the night on a bed of leaves and dirt. It didn't matter in the slightest, I relished the feeling of finally closing my eyes and fell asleep to their conversation.

"Do you think there'll be kids there? At Terminus?" Lizzie disregarded the encouragement of sleep.

"If their parents kept them safe; like Georgia kept all of you safe."

"I saved Georgia. There were people shooting at her. I shot them. First a man, then a woman. I didn't mean to shoot her in the head." She rambled.

"You had to. You saved Georgia."

"Maybe there'll be kids there even if their parents couldn't keep them safe. Maybe the kids kept their parents safe."

"Yeah."

"Did you have kids?"

"I did. A kid. A daughter."

"What was she like?"

"She was sweet. She didn't have a mean bone in her body."

"Is that why she isn't here now?"

"Yeah."

"Do you miss her?"

"Every day."

"Would you miss me?"

"I'm not gonna have to miss you. You're dead on your feet. Go sleep next to your sister, okay?"

"But ma'am I can help-"

"I'm gonna need your help looking after things tomorrow. Go to sleep okay?"

I awoke first to Judith wriggling around in my arms. Yet another day was dawning, despite the odds, another night was survived. Carol was already wide awake and took the stirring baby into her arms as I stretched out a terrible night's sleep on the forest floor.

"Time to go." She whispered to me.

"What do you think? 3 days out? 4 days?" Tyreese asked her as I entered the land of the living.

"We haven't seen any of those maps at the crossings. I'm not sure." Carol uttered back as she rocked Judith.

"Lizzie's tough." I rose to my feet and watched the girl drag Carol's heavy bag up onto her back.

"When it comes to people" Carol dismissed my assertion.

"What do you mean?" Tyreese asked, confused.

"You haven't seen it?" Carol asked, genuinely, before explaining, "How she's confused about them, the walkers. She doesn't see what they are. She thinks they're just different."

"Is Mika the same way?" Tyreese asked, pensively.

"No she's worse." I interrupted, "She doesn't have a mean bone in her body." Carol sighed and nodded in agreement as we all gathered our belongings and moved out.

"Did Tom Sawyer have a happy ending? We never got to finish it." Mika smiled up to Carol.

"Well, Tom and Huck, they stop Injun Joe and his partner and wind up getting all his gold." Carol smiled back. Mika's innocence, though truly detrimental to her safety in the thick of it, was a breath of fresh air along these endless stretches of railway track. Where our minds could easily drift down darker pastures, her bubbly ideas and goofy grin kept us grounded.

"So they wind up rich?" Mika asked.

"Mhmm, and the widow Douglas adopts Huck." Carol informed her.

"Like you adopted us?" Mika smiled a huge grin and my heart felt a little lighter.

"Yeah, just like the widow Douglas." Carol snorted.

"And I'm Huck Finn!" Mika decided.

"I think you're more like Tom Sawyer." Lizzie added.

"Yeah, you're right. You're way more like Huck Finn. You're not even grossed out by dead rabbits."

"Forgot you used to read to them" Tyreese smiled.

"I did." Carol smiled genuinely. We shared a moment reminiscing on that peaceful period, upon an easier time.

"You smell that?" Carol turned back to me.

"Yeah. There's a fire somewhere." Tyreese added.

"Must be a big one. It isn't anywhere around here." Carol insisted, "We should stop here. We need to look for water."

"I can do it." I uttered, gently.

"No, you need rest. Mika will help me; Tyreese will watch your back." Carol decided.

We all veered off the tracks and trundled down the embankment deeper into the shaded woods. Carol and Mika disappeared on their hunt as the four of us settled in a secluded, quiet spot. Lizzie and Tyreese began playing eye-spy as I took the opportunity to lay down on my back to relieve my pain. Upon Tyreese's next turn, he fell silent. I initially figured it was too challenging to spy anything outside of trees, dirt, rocks and bugs, but his silence was for a much grander reason.

"Georgia." Tyreese hissed and handed me Judith as I sat up, "Here. You both stay here."

I followed his eye line to spy a lone walker stumbling down the line in the distance. He dragged his hammer from his belt and began in its direction. Upon realising this, Lizzie bolted to her feet, ignoring my pleas to get back here, and stormed after him. The walker was weak; it had fallen in between the tracks and writhed around pathetically, snarling at us with its twisted and snapped limbs. We'd caught up to Tyreese just as he was readying to dispatch the creature.

"Tyreese! Sometimes we have to kill them. I know that. But sometimes we don't." Lizzie pleaded with him. We all exchanged looks. Sure enough, the pathetic writhing mess on the floor wasn't an immediate threat, there was logic to that part, but we all knew that wasn't where her logic was stemming from.

Eventually Carol and Mika returned to us with brilliant news. They'd found a grove and an abandoned house nestled inside. It sounded idyllic, almost too good to be true, but the perfect reprieve.

"What are these?" Mika picked up some nuts from the ground.

"Pecans." I glanced over at her small hands.

"Oh I love Pecans!" Mika grinned.

"You know, maybe we could catch our breath here for a while." Carol suggested.

"We're still going to Terminus, right?" Lizzie asked.

"We'll just stay a day or two." Carol plead her case, "There's a well full of water. Fences. They're not big but they're something. And we saw deer. They eat pecans. We should be able to kill one to eat."

"We can eat these, too, right?" Mika raised her cupped hands of pecans.

"You can eat your fill and then some." Tyreese smiled at the little girl.

"Look!" Lizzie pointed at a big barrel of smoke rising into the sky, just visible through the trees.

"Bet that's what we were smelling." Carol uttered.

"Looks far enough away" I judged as I squinted through the trees.

"I wonder how it started." Mika pondered.

"Maybe lightning. Maybe a campfire. I can patch that fence." Tyreese noted and lead the way into the grounds.

"It's probably where the deer are coming from. We should leave it. Just play it really safe in here." Carol decided.

The kids sat below the porch on a rickety piece of lawn furniture as Tyreese, Carol and I crept up to the front door. Tyreese smacked on the frame as we all braced ourselves for a response.

"If there's one in there, it's not moving much." Carol pressed her ear against the gap in the door. It was hard to discern creaking house noises from walker footsteps.

"Lot of floors. Let's just stay close, go slow room to room." I uttered to Tyreese and Carol and raised my gun. "Girls, you sit tight. You don't come in until we come out no matter what you hear."

"Okay." The girls uttered in unison.

"Lizzie's got Judith. Mika, get out your gun. You're gonna need to stand watch." Carol ordered the little girl.

"Stand strong, little lady." Tyreese encouraged her as we disappeared inside the house.

We hadn't gotten through the first room yet before we heard them arguing. The three of us exchanged a look and made our way towards the door as the girls shrieked and fired out 3 gun shots.

"STOP! STOP IT!" Lizzie shrieked out. We burst from the house to find Mika standing with her gun fixed on the now dead walker. She'd shot it down. Lizzie was on the ground, hyperventilating, clutching a bawling Judith.

"Are you okay?" Carol asked as she heaved Lizzie up onto her feet, "All right, come on. Come on."

"Come on, come on. I got you, little girl." I pulled Judith into my arms and soothed the crying baby.

"Mika. Lower the gun. You did it. You saved them." Carol praised the girl before turning to her sister and asking, "Why are you upset, Lizzie? Were you scared?"

"No." Lizzie whimpered.

"Then why are you crying?" Carol's voice grew sterner.

"I don't want to say." She ran over to a garden seat and whimpered. Carol, Tyreese and I all exchanged a look of deep uncertainty.

Mika sighed and went over to her. "Lizzie. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Just look at the flowers like you're supposed to. Count one, two, three. Come on, let's count together. Look at the pink ones over there. You see?"

"One, two, three" the girls chanted her coping mechanism in unison.

Tyreese and Carol decided to clear the house slowly as I watched over the girls. Once they had conducted a thorough sweep of the entire house, ensuring no further nasty surprises, we settled in. Later on that night, Carol was cracking pecans at the dining room table with Lizzie watching her pensively. I lay down on the sofa, resting and enjoying the warmth of the fire, as Judith snored away in her crib at my feet.

"You still upset?" Carol asked the girl.

"Sometimes I don't understand but I'm trying to, ma'am. I am." Lizzie replied, genuinely.

"Look what I found! I'm gonna name her Griselda Gunderson!" Mika ran in with a doll. She giggled and ran over to show her to me. The doll was in pretty good nick, as if she'd never been played with before. I commented on what a beautiful name she'd chosen for such a beautiful doll.

"Well, we got plenty of water. Now all we gotta do is bag one of them deer and we're all set." Tyreese chuckled as he too reappeared.

"Then we'll get one." Carol replied.

"Yeah." Tyreese replied but his face dropped a little.

"What's wrong?" Mika caught the drop in his demeanour instantly.

"I'm not used to this." Tyreese said frankly.

"Used to what?" Lizzie asked.

"We're in a living room in a house." Tyreese spoke softly, in sheer amazement.

"Yeah, so relax." Mika scoffed, as if it were a silly thing to be amazed by.

Tyreese sat down in the armchair next to me and grabbed a magazine from the coffee table.

"We should live here." Mika decided as she brushed her new doll's vibrant red hair. Was that…an option? I didn't feel like it was one for me. If it were Hannah sat before me, I might've entertained it, but I couldn't. I wouldn't begrudge the others deciding to stay, but it was not an option for me. I smiled lightly at the little girl and rested my eyes.

Carol entered the kitchen the next morning just as I was boiling water in the kettle.

"They've boxes and boxes of tea, just like at the farm." I smiled and waved the prized possessions her way. She smiled genuinely back at me. Our old ritual of bringing hot beverages to each other and just talking the days away flooded back to us both, "I'm getting better at dealing with the pangs of pain, otherwise-"

"You slip back, from hearty cups of tea at the farm, to the demise of the farm…to the people at the farm, to getting there…it all slips down on top of you." Carol finished my train of thought so articulately.

I nodded, "Slippery slope. Easy to drown."

Carol squeezed my hand and gave me a knowing look. It made me think about the first time we'd met on the highway to Atlanta, a broken wife had asked a lost aunt whether she was their mother…this woman was so different to the one that stood before me, yet in those eyes, I saw the same fighter. I wrestled with the knowledge I held regarding her actions and in that moment, decided they were not mine to judge and certainly not mine to tell.

Something caught a glimpse of my attention outside, and my heart fell to the floor not a beat later. I snatched a sharp kitchen knife from the counter. Lizzie was playing chase with a goddamn walker. Carol's eyes had followed mine instantly and we both burst outside.

"You get away from it!" Carol barked at the girl.

"No, no, no, no!" She smiled and tried to reason with us.

"Lizzie, you get away right now! I mean it!" Carol grabbed the girl, dragging her away from the walker physically as I tackled it to the ground and plunged the knife into the walker's eye socket.

"No!" She shrieked and started bawling maniacally, "She was playing with me. She wanted a friend!"

Carol spun the girl and faced her, bellowing, "She wanted to kill you!"

"I was gonna lead her away!" she cried out.

"You could have died!" Carol barked.

"It's the same thing!" Lizzie shrieked in her face before turning to me, "You killed her! You killed her! It's the same thing! What if I killed you? What if I killed you?!"

"Lizzie." My eyes widened as the girl grew more and more hysterical.

"You don't understand! You don't understand. You don't understand!" she muttered over and over. She paused and gasped for breath, before turning her darkened eyes back to me, "You didn't have to. You didn't have to! She didn't want to hurt anybody! She was my friend and you killed her!"

Tyreese burst outside and stood on the porch, as Lizzie fell to the floor still shouting and pointing at me, "You killed her! YOU! YOU KILLED HER!"

"Maybe we don't need to go to Terminus. I've been thinking…Mika's right. We can stay here. We can live here. I know Lizzie and Mika. I know Judith. I know you, Georgia. I know you, Carol. I trust you. And I don't know if I can get that anywhere else. We could stay. We can live here." Tyreese plead his case to Carol and I after the commotion of Lizzie's melt down had blown over. Carol and I looked at each other, we both had our reasons for not being able to commit to this place.

"I get that…I do, but-" I started, but was cut off by the girls screaming in the distance out by the fences. We all sprinted out towards them, guns raised. They were stumbling back towards the fences, followed by charcoaled walkers.

Mika got stuck in the fence as she climbed through the barbed wire and screamed bloody murder. I shot down the walker that had grabbed onto her tangled foot as Lizzie feverishly worked to free her sister.

"Get behind us!" Carol bellowed towards the girls.

The girls obeyed us, to an extent. We formed a line of defence, shooting down all the charcoaled walkers. Even Lizzie fired shots at them, much to our collective relief.

"It's okay. You did it." Carol embraced Lizzie as the last walker slumped to the ground. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of charred rotting flesh and gestured to Mika to turn back towards the house.

We huddled inside the living room that night, in similar arrangement to the previous night. Tyreese was snoring in the armchair closest to the fireplace. Mika brushed her doll's hair on the rug directly in front of the blaze. I lay down on the sofa with Judith laying down on top of me, asleep. Lizzie and Carol were crushing yet more pecans at the table.

"I had to help stop them." Lizzie uttered, eventually breaking the silence.

"Do you understand what they are now?" Carol asked gently.

"I know. I know what I have to do now. I know." Lizzie gazed directly into Carol's eyes.

"It's ugly and it's scary and it does change you. That's how we get to be here. That's the cost. That's growing up now." Carol informed the girl.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone. I don't wanna be mean." Mika added in.

"You have to be sometimes. But just sometimes." Lizzie assured her sister.

"Now we have a lot of pecans here." Carol informed.

"A ton." Lizzie scoffed.

"Getting sick of them yet?" I laughed quietly.

"Nope!" Mika's eyes smiled brightly.

The girls joined Carol in the kitchen, making baked pecans according to her grandmother's recipe. The atmosphere inside this warm, quaint house was light and happy, we left the niggling worries and darkness outside on the porch. We were living in a bubble here; one we were reluctant to claw our way out of.

"The girls like it here. We could build it up, plant more food. We could find a car for an escape route just in case." Carol looked over the grove as the sun once again broke through the trees and greeted us, "If you don't want to go to Terminus, we could stay."

"We could. It doesn't mean we can't go someday. It's just…when we were getting closer and closer, I realised I'm just not ready to be around other people yet." Tyreese uttered back as he leant against the porch railing.

"You don't have to." I uttered back to him and imparted my own decision to the pair, "I need to see it for myself. I need to know if the bus headed there. Whatever you both decide, I can't stay."

"I dream about Karen." Tyreese veered off topic, "I see her every night. And every time I forget she's dead. Sometimes we just talk. And sometimes…I see her in the crowd in a city I've never been to. And it's back before everything happened. And then…some nights, the bad ones, I see someone kill her. Some stranger. Then I lose her all over again. But that's the deal right? The people who are living are haunted by the dead. We are who we are and we do what we do 'cause they're still here. In our heads. In the forest. The whole world is haunted now. And there's no getting out of that. Not until we're dead."

"Tyreese. Maybe they're not haunting us. Maybe they're just teaching us. Helping remind us so that we can live with what we have to do." Carol whimpered sadly. My heart fell heavy and I turned away from the pair in uncertainty over what to do.

"Hey. Don't you ever be ashamed of who you are, Carol. You did right by those girls. You did right by everyone." Tyreese embraced her and after composing himself, turned to a lighter note, "Right. You ready to head out? We'll get a deer yet. It's probably not even the season."

"I've ever faith in you." I smiled and lead the way around the house, "I'll check on the girls."

"My husband used to hunt. He'd tell the same stupid joke year on year." Carol smiled warmly.

"You gonna tell it?" Tyreese asked.

"I guess I have to now, right?" She smiled.

"You do." I nodded back to her.

"Okay. What's the difference between beer nuts and deer nuts? Beer nuts are around $1.79; deer nuts are just under a buck." She grinned.

"That's good stupid, but in no way is it stupid good." Tyreese chortled.

"Yeah, I told you. There's more where that came from." She chuckled as I froze in place before them.

Shakily, my legs began moving towards the horror before us. Judith waved her tiny hands at me. Lizzie stood smiling, nonchalantly. Mika…

"Don't worry. She'll come back." Lizzie smiled, holding her bloodied knife. "I didn't hurt her brain." I trembled and motioned to say anything…but the words couldn't surface. We all stood, staring between the girls.

Carol moved to take the knife, Lizzie drew her gun and began babbling at Carol, "No, no, no! We have to wait! I need to show you, You'll see. You'll finally get it. We have to wait."

"Lizzie, put the gun down." Tyreese uttered sternly.

"I just want us to wait." Lizzie pleaded with the man.

"We can wait." Carol sniffled, desperately attempting to stifle her tears, "We can wait. Just give me the gun. We can wait, I swear."

Lizzie tentatively handed the gun over to Carol. She trusted Carol.

"We should take Judith back." I uttered, clearing my throat to stifle my own emotions, "It's not safe for her here."

"But Judith can change too." Lizzie suggested. "I was just about to-"

"She can't even walk yet." My voice broke, tellingly, as I shook my head and forced a smile.

"Yeah, you're right." Lizzie nodded warmly.

"So you two take Judith back to the house and we'll have lunch." Carol's voice sang out, "And I'll just tie Mika up. You know, just so she won't go anywhere."

"Promise that's what you'll do?"

"Mm-hmm. I promise. I'll use her shoelaces."

I picked up baby Judith as she stirred and started to cry. I held the baby girl close, holding her against my chest, took one last look back at Carol and lead the way back to the house.

Tyreese uttered behind me, "Let's uh, let's go, Lizzie."

I didn't allow myself to look down again at little, innocent Mika as I passed her for the last time. It took all the strength I could muster not to break down in tears.

"I brought her some food. I cleared out her room. Made sure she didn't have any knives or anything like that." Tyreese rocked baby Judith and spoke in a tone far too soft for this conversation.

A long pause was endured. Carol ran her hands through her hair. I pinched the bridge of my nose, attempting to gather my thoughts; I looked up to coerce tears back. I wasn't entirely sure I had any more to part with.

"She has a shoe box full of mice. I asked if she was the one feeding the walkers at the prison." Tyreese broke the silence once more, patting Judith lightly. "That was her. And at the tombs, we found this rabbit pulled apart and nailed to a board. That was her too, said she was just having fun. I was thinking, maybe she killed Karen and David, but I don't know how she'd dragged them away."

I unwittingly had turned to Carol, mid-digesting his words.

"She would have let them turn. It wasn't her." Carol brushed his suspicion away. At least she didn't allow Lizzie to take the fall, all too easy in this situation. I almost admired her in that moment.

"So what do we do?" I cleared my throat before uttering my words. The words we'd need to address, sooner rather than later.

"I could leave with her." Carol stated.

"What?" Tyreese's tone rose up.

"We can't sleep with her and Judith under the same roof." I uttered impassively.

"You wouldn't make it. Not on your own." Tyreese argued back.

"She can't be around other people." Carol acknowledged the truth.

"Maybe we could try to help her. Talk her back somehow?" Tyreese pleaded.

"She's a psychopath. Chronic traumatic stress changes the brain, especially an emotional, vulnerable, developing one. This is how she is. She doesn't understand death. She's dangerous to all around her." I shuddered as I spoke.

"It was already there. I didn't see it." Carol's eyes lined with tears once more.

"How could you?" I piped in.

"I should have seen it." Carol shook her head.

"So maybe we go. Georgia and I could take Judith." Tyreese's voice was hollow.

"You won't make it either." Carol wiped her eyes for the final time, "She can't be around other people."

Tyreese put Judith down for a nap right beside us, even though Lizzie wasn't nearby, before joining me at the window, watching Carol lead the girl away. She was skipping, happily, next to Carol. Tyreese exhaled heavily as the pair stopped and turned to converse. It looked like Lizzie was crying as she stumbled and turned away from Carol. We watched her arm raise, as she uttered some final words, and pull the trigger. Lizzie slumped to the ground, in amongst a bed of flowers. I snapped my eyes away as Lizzie fell; Tyreese pulled me into a close embrace and we both cried.

The sisters were buried underneath the grand oak tree in the back garden. They were buried beside the children of the former occupants of this house. I added in Mika's dolly with her and a bunch of flowers for Lizzie. Once they were gone, we looked around at the grove, so peaceful and quiet. We finally looked at each other, and couldn't muster up anything comforting to say to ourselves. It was…awful. Our hearts weighed heavy in our chests as we returned to the house for one final night.

The mood inside the living room was a stark contrast to the nights we'd enjoyed before. I sat upright in the arm chair, watching Judith's chest rise and fall peacefully, I couldn't tear my eyes away for a good while, thankful that I still had her. Carol broke my trance by brushing the gun across the table she was completing a puzzle with Tyreese on.

"I killed Karen and David." Carol's voice simmered in the quiet room. It was so quiet our heartbeats were audible. She continued on explaining herself, "I had to stop the illness from breaking out. I had to stop people dying. It wasn't Lizzie. It wasn't a stranger. Tyreese, it was me. You do what you have to do."

Tyreese's face scrunched up in pain, his breaths laboured. He gripped the side of the table and uttered, "Did she know what was happening? Was she scared?"

Carol shook her head once.

"It was quick?" Tyreese exhaled sharply.

"Yes." Carol spoke plainly.

Tyreese gripped his hand over the gun. I perched on the edge of my seat, staring at the man, waiting for him to so much as flinch.

"Do what you have to do." Carol uttered, accepting her fate.

He exhaled poignantly and his grasp over the gun released, "I forgive you. I'm never gonna forget. It happened. You did it. You feel it. I know you do. It's a part of you now. Me too. But I forgive you."

"Thank you." Carol blubbered.

"We don't need to stay." Tyreese turned to me and then back at Carol, "We can't stay."

There was just no way we could contemplate staying here. At the first light of dawn, we packed up our belongings and the set on our way to Terminus.


	49. Season 5: 01: No Sanctuary

"We're close." Carol broke the silence from behind us. I jumped a little at the abrupt end to our awkward expedition. "I'm gonna get you both there, make sure you're safe. But I'm not gonna stay."

I turned to face Tyreese as he stopped, he didn't greet my eyes. He was looking behind Carol. I noticed the lone walker stumble out of the woods behind her. This one evidently hadn't turned recently; you could smell it from here. It snarled and gasped pathetically, trundling down the line at an arduous pace, grasping desperately in our direction.

"I can't. Not yet." Tyreese shuddered and grabbed the snoozing Judith rapidly from Carol's arms. He held the baby close to his chest and denied eye contact with either of us.

"You gonna have to be able to." She sighed as I brushed passed them. Don't mind me, chums, I'll grab the walker whilst you work your shit out. I fell to the ground with the dispatched walker in pure exhaustion. I rubbed my scraped elbow half-heartedly. Prison life had made me soft, I groaned to myself. Okay, prison wall exploding on to me definitely had more to do with it. As I lugged my knife from its skull and grasped my side, my eyes fell upon the horror nestled in the woods to my right.

An exceptionally dense herd was staggering this way, through the thicket.

"More!" I hissed and desperately skidded over the railway line, down the slope to our left as quietly as possible, following Carol's lead to a mound to hide behind. There were so many. We settled down, and held our collective breath knowing full well, if we're spotted, its game over. My eyes bore into the baby girl nestled into Tyreese's chest. Please, baby girl, please do not stir.

I saw Carol's eyes grow wider and reach for her dagger. They were stumbling over the line. This was it. I followed suit and clenched my knife, ready to go down swinging. Distant gunfire pulled their attention directly down the railway line. I exhaled dramatically as Carol ducked back down to our level, her back sliding down the tree trunk. I peeked out from my vantage point hesitantly, they were moving on, well on their way.

"Too damn close." I gulped and regained my composure. My fragile hand eventually loosened its shaky grip on the knife as I held the other to my chest in comfort.

"That gunfire could've been from Terminus." Tyreese brooded.

"Someone was attacking them. Or they were attacking someone." Carol watched the distant herd stumble down the railway line ahead of us.

"We even wanna find out?" Tyreese turned to face her with pained eyes.

"Yeah." I uttered simply.

Carol agreed and articulated our next move, "There's another track due east that'll get us there. We'll be real careful, we're gonna get answers."

Tyreese turned to face me, I merely nodded in response. I couldn't articulate then to Tyreese's doubtful soul exactly why we were running after gunfire and a horde of walkers. In that moment my mind slipped back to the girls, those little girls…finding a place to hide out doesn't make you safe. The Grove sheltered us for a few nights and still managed to tear away at our very souls. The Prison shielded us from the hordes but couldn't protect us from the living monsters that prowled outside the walls. Terminus, whatever it was, whatever awaited us, it was keeping us going, dragging our weary feet down the tracks. Without an end in sight, without an endgame to this tragedy that was our lives now, we'd drown in everything that'd brought us to this point. The feeling was akin to arriving at the CDC's rolled down shutters. It was helpless and pointless. Sure, the chances of finding our family, our friends…they were next to none, didn't mean we get to give up. We'd already beaten the odds by getting out of there alive and finding each other. Everything we'd done…couldn't be for nothing. We were moving forward.

* * *

It didn't take too long for us to stumble upon a small cabin and a parked car with its door swung wide open. A man was rummaging around on his knees in the dirt as we cautiously surrounded him.

"Ten-minute count." A woman crackled over a radio in the man's pocket, "You screw up, you're on your own, Martin."

"You don't have to tell me. I wipe my own ass." The man snorted into the radio, "Alex didn't get it. See, I knew the chick with the sword was bad news. Bitch looked like a weapon with a weapon." Michonne. My heart began to race as her image emerged in my mind. It had to be her, she was one of a kind. My emotions ran through excitement at the possibility of reuniting with her once again and paralysing dread at how we would find her.

"He was always a sloppy-ass mother." The woman crackled.

The man chuckled, "Yeah, I told Albert I want the kids hat after they bleed him out-" and jumped at the sound of Carol's gun cocking against the back of his head. She'd beaten me to it by mere milliseconds. Bleed him out. The words scratched into my mind.

"Keep your finger off the button and drop it." Carol seethed.

"They're only doing eight before public face." The woman crackled as the radio clattered onto the ground. Eight...eight of ours?

"Listen, y'all don't have to do this. Whatever you want, we got a place where everyone's welcome." The man attempted to lay out the welcome mat for us. His sickly tone sent the hairs on the nape of my neck to attention. They had Michonne and Carl for certain. A rage began to build up in the pit of my stomach. I needed answers.

"Shut up, man." Tyreese instructed.

"Okay." The man uttered back pathetically.

"We're friends of the chick in the sword and the kid in the hat." I paced around to get a good look at the man's face. He was roughly bound by Tyreese and shoved inside the cabin whilst we rummaged through his supplies.

"They attacked us. We're just holding them." Martin pathetically attempted to pull one over on us.

"I don't believe you." Carol uttered.

"Who else d'ya have? Do you know their names?" Tyreese asked.

"We just have the boy and the samurai, that's it! We're just protecting ourselves."

"I don't believe you." Carol repeated herself and continued to stuff a duffel bag with fireworks and ammo. They were creating some kind of diversion.

"There's a bunch of us out there, mixed different directions. There's a lot of gunfire back home, we need to set off our charges, confuse the dead ones away, that's good for you too!" He barked at her.

"No it isn't. There's a herd heading towards Terminus right now. We don't wanna confuse them away. We're gonna need their help."

"It's a compound. They'll see you coming, if you even make it that far with all the cold bodies heading over." He sneered.

"Carol, how are we gonna do this?" I stepped up to the table, ready to go but needing the word.

She handed me an assault rifle with a mammoth scope on it and stated very clearly, "We're gonna kill people."

I cricked my neck, nodded to Tyreese and followed her out, "Well alrighty then." I didn't need to be told twice. It was clear these people wouldn't hesitate to do the same. Tyreese slammed the door behind us.

* * *

"George, I have an idea…" She uttered and pointed her rifle at a lonesome walker, stumbling off in the wrong direction from the herd. I didn't immediately understand her intentions…why waste bullets on those that aren't immediate threats? "We need him."

I raised an eyebrow and took the walker down in one shot. As she knelt down next to it and rummaged for her knife, her plan became abundantly clear as she instructed me to throw on a tatty poncho. I swallowed the bile and held my hands apart for her. She smeared the walker guts all over and I returned the favour hastily. Bits slopped all over, plopping to the ground. Next she instructed me to wipe the sopping mud over our faces. It stunk, so, so bad.

"Swore I'd never have to do this again…" I choked back the vomit and thought kindly back to the man who'd introduced me to this wretched method of stealth.

"Sure you're up to this?" Carol asked, concerned at my retch which she'd mistaken for a wince.

"Yes." I said flatly.

We stumbled upon the compound soon enough. Overturned cargo boxes with protruding spikes needed a little careful navigation, in addition to the walker that was speared on one like a kebab. The bustle underneath us required a silent approach. We steadily crawl up the hill where the outer perimeter fence sat.

"Holy shit." I uttered under my breath and pointed her scope in the right direction.

"We are not in Kansas, anymore." Carol shuddered at the sight.

Rick, Glenn, Daryl and Bob were bound and gagged, lying flat on their stomachs. My scope followed Daryl being dragged to his feet and shoved inside the building. My heart was beating, ringing in my ears. He was gone from sight. Was this honestly how it ends? That's the last time I get to see him? And where the hell is everyone else, Hannah? Beth? Maggie? In that train car? Gah, like hell!

"What're you thinking? Forecourt full of walkers…not a problem. Crowd of gun-toting bastards, might be a hindrance." Carol whispered as we scouted the location and scrambled to form a plan.

"We can't open-fire. They'll just kill them all." I uttered back. There were too many armed assholes. My scope fell upon two females dispatching walkers through an interior fence, they were standing adjacent to our answer; an industrial size propane tank.

"Whoa." Carol pointed up at the roof guards; they were hollering down, the people on the ground stormed inside the buildings, tripping over themselves in fear. The distant rumble of the herd was descending on them. "There's our boys, right on cue."

"Carol. 2 o'clock, propane tank." I uttered, "Line up the shot; I'll set up the fire crackers."

Carol shared my rogue smirk and nodded in agreement, we had our way in. We were gonna rip open a new one. After a few shots, the tank was pierced. The pressure released thunderous, thick white smog, which agitated the walkers somewhat, attracting them further. I lit the fire crackers and braced for impact. Fire in the hole, I thought to myself as I covered my head. A colossal explosion shook the entire compound. We staggered back a little down the hill from the sheer force. Walkers and people alike were sent flying into the air. Their buildings were engulfed in flames. Walls and more importantly, fences had been smashed in. A thick billowing black smoke choked the entire area. Singed, extra-crispy walkers rose to their feet, where their feet were still attached, and staggered onwards.

"Sweet baby Jesus!" I scoffed in a moment of awe at the destruction.

"Now for the hard part." Carol handed me my rifle and we ploughed down into the compound.

* * *

We staggered in amongst the herd. I'd like to say I was an old pro at this by now, but as the guts slid down my poncho, my stomach cringed and retched once more. Two guards were littering the alley with their clips. Their people were being ripped apart, screaming out for help as we simply shuffled right past them.

"I got roof." I hissed at Carol. She gunned down the guard blocking an entrance way whilst I sniped the one on the roof. He flopped off the roof and smacked down like a sack of potatoes. That ought to keep the corpses busy. Carol abruptly dragged me sideways inside a doorway and cautiously closed it behind us.

We'd entered what looked like a store room. Metal racks and garage sale tables were laid out before us, spilling over with belongings. A wave of sadness rippled through me, and I'm sure through Carol too. These were certainly not left by choice. Everything you could imagine people would hold dear, teddy bears, jewellery, watches…Carol plucked a specific one up. We searched the weapons table, I picked up a machete and as we were reloading our rifles, my eyes fell upon Daryl's crossbow. I lugged it over my shoulder and stuffed a tied bundle of arrows into my backpack as Carol let out a relieved chuckle. I was certain that these weren't Daryl's sizeable wad of arrows, but something told me the previous owner might not need them.

We pushed onwards into a large hanger, filled with candles. "What the hell…" we almost simultaneously exhaled. The heat of the flames couldn't stifle the shiver that ran down my spine. "Never again. Never trust. We first, always" was plastered all over the walls, so many times, like a child had never been relieved from detention. Names were marked on the floor, with a collection of candles and assorted miscellaneous items. The shrine seemed right at home in a horror movie; I chuckled to myself at the notion. Our lives were one continuous horror movie.

"Drop your weapons and turn around." A gun clicked from behind us. Oh shit. It sounded like a middle-aged woman, alone, a handgun on the smaller side. "I wanna see your faces."

Carol looked at the door, so close yet so far from our position; a walker was rhythmically banging upon it. I could almost hear the cogs turning, assessing the situation as I was too.

"NOW!" The woman's bark echoed throughout the creepy-ass room. I dropped my rifle, followed by the crossbow. Carol put her rifle slowly down on the floor and as we tentatively turned around, she angled up and fired at the woman. The shock caused her to stumble backwards, giving me a window to smack the gun out of her hands. I picked it up and pointed it at her, resuming my position next to Carol. She began babbling, "The signs…they were real. It was a sanctuary. People came and took this place."

"Just tell us where-" Carol begun but was interrupted by the woman spouting her justifications.

"They raped and they killed and they laughed over weeks. But we got out and we fought and we got it back." She spat and trembled with pure rage. "And we heard the message: you're the butcher or you're the cattle."

"Great. We don't give a shit about your sob story." I dismissed her, causing her rage to boil over.

"The men they pulled from that train car, where are they?" Carol kept her gun pointed directly at the woman's head, her finger resting firmly on the trigger.

"Dammit, we don't have time for this." I shot her in the leg, she tumbled down to the ground, shrieking. "Where are they?" I punctuated every word with my gun. More than one walker was now slamming on the door thanks to her screeches.

"Now point it at my head, you stupid bitch." She laughed maniacally, "You could've been one of us. You could've listened to what the world is telling you."

"You lead people here and you take what they have and then you kill them. Is that what this place is?" I asked her, coldly. I needed to hear the confirmation bleed from her lips, that she was not worthy of a bullet to the head.

"No, not at first" her tune changed as Carol stepped towards the door. "It's what it had to be. And we're still here!" she roared the last part, ferociously.

"You're not here, and neither are we." I lowered the gun and threw it across the room before I took my place next to Carol. She opened the door and we both took a step back, permitting the walkers to stumble in. We were invisible. The woman shrieked and screamed her lungs out as we slipped quietly outside back into a different quarter of hell.

* * *

"Wait." I put an arm ahead of her. We stopped dead in our tracks, pinpointing the threat.

"You hear that too?" Carol's eyes widened. My heart soared as I nodded, a smile spread across her face as we placed the voice. We headed cautiously in its direction; I began to jog closer, wary of the weapons weighing us down, it sounded as if the group was arguing with Rick. They all turned around to face us as the twigs snapped underneath our feet. As Rick stumbled backwards in shock, my eyes fell upon him.

"Daryl." Rick grinned.

Daryl had his fist pressed firmly against a tree; an exhausted and exasperated look to match. I traced every edge of his outline, taking in every detail. I began to feel the tears building up as I mentally thanked the lord for granting me this gift; my heart began to thunder inside my chest as I gradually lost my composure. He raised his exhausted head up and as our eyes met, his tension dispersed. Without a moment of hesitation, he bolted towards me and we embraced. He lifted me up; we were both crying and then laughing. We didn't know what to do, how to function through the pure elation. I held his head to my chest, embracing tightly. We pulled away briefly; he grabbed my face with both hands and we kissed, passionately. Everything had fallen away, all those stupid sarcastic fights and bitter remarks, all those nights convinced we'd never set eyes on each other again, what we had just been through, nothing else mattered in that moment. He wiped stray tears from my eyes and uttered "You smell like shit." We smiled at each other before I stepped out of the way to reveal his second surprise.

They embraced as I stepped back towards Rick. He embraced me tightly and kissed the top of my head. "Thank god. Or should I be thanking you? Did you do that?" he drawled.

"We did." I nodded over to Carol.

Rick embraced Carol as I searched the faces of everyone around us, including some new ones, a tall buff soldier, a mullet-man, a half-naked girl, and another girl. But my eyes never fell upon the one I was looking for. Hannah was missing…alongside, Beth.

Rick had returned as my reunion hugs turned into desperate searches.  
"What happened to her? And where's Beth?" I trembled and braced myself for the impact.

"Beth was with me. She got taken in the night by this black sedan." Daryl drawled, breaking the shuffles of silence. Taken away? Oh god, taken where? What, even?

"We came across the bus that escaped the prison…" Maggie uttered. "The people inside were all walkers."

I inhaled sharply and clapped my hands to my knees. Oh, dear god, no.

"BUT!" Bob butted in; sensing Maggie wasn't getting to the point quick enough. "She wasn't on there."

I felt so faint. I felt horrific. "Oh. Great. That's so much better." I shook as Daryl pulled me into a tight embrace. I breathed him in and instantly felt a wave of guilt rush over me. How can I be happy in this moment? I'm reunited with the group, with Daryl, and she's alone out there, somewhere. My heart broke into tiny pieces.

"Hey. We all found each other. Didn't fancy the odds, but we're all here. We're gonna find 'em both." Daryl gently cupped my face and guided my eyes to meet his, making certain I was hearing his words. I nodded, unconvinced, and sighed as he returned to the group's discussion. I gripped my side and wavered as they all discussed our heroics; goddammit, all this excitement and adrenaline had smothered the pain.

"Hey." Daryl stepped up back into me and grabbed my arm in support. I wasn't aware he was still watching over me.

"I'm okay." I whispered, suddenly very aware of the group of people surrounding us, unwilling to expose my weakened state to all.

"Bullshit." He stepped very close, shielding me from view and lifted my vest followed by a pained scorn.

"It's not that bad, I just need to ease up on the ass-kicking a little…for a while." My response almost garnered a small smile from the man. His piercing blue eyes saw right through mine.

"Cracked?" he drawled.

"No. Dislocation, in two places from what I can feel. But it'll heal, under pressure."

He lay my vest down carefully and kissed me on the forehead. Suddenly, a spark ignited.

"Carl, Rick, you have to come with us! Sasha!" I wiped yet more tears away.

Tyreese emerged from the cabin with baby Judith in his arms. Rick stumbled and dropped everything before sprinting towards his daughter. Carl and Sasha quickly followed suit. Everyone collectively sighed in relief, families were reunited, once again.

"What happened?" I asked Tyreese.

"There were a bunch of walkers out here and he had his hands around Judith's neck." Tyreese uttered and grasped my arm as I moved to storm passed him.

"No, he's dead. I-I had to." He turned his eyes to Carol and uttered, "So I did. I could."

Carol and I ditched our bloody ponchos and used a stagnant bucket of water to wash away the rest of the gunk. It felt…freeing to wipe away the physical horror from our bodies. I recovered my tattered denim shirt and slipped into it gently.

"I don't know if the fire's still burning." Rick announced to the group upon our return. Michonne had wrapped herself up in Judith's sling and nestled the baby girl inside. I was glad my wounded body was granted reprieve.

"It is." Carol informed him.

"Yeah, we need to go." Rick uttered.

"Yeah, where?" Daryl asked.

"Somewhere far away from there." Rick scoffed and rallied up the group.

I went to pull my rucksack off the ground but Daryl quickly intercepted and tossed it over his shoulder, leaving me with nothing but a rifle slung over my back. My body sighed at the relief, compared to those heavy days, I felt weightless. He turned back to check on my progress and smirked, raising his crossbow, "Thanks for grabbing this."

"That's what the embrace was for right? You were just tryin' to grab at it." I smirked back.

"Yeah, you got in the way." He drawled and carried on walking.

Our group trudged through the woodland, rediscovering the railway lines and ultimately descending deep into the heart of the woods.

* * *

 _A/N: Season 4 was a bit of a wash out for me. I didn't really know what to do with Georgia except get her feeling pushed out and helpless, two emotions she does not carry well. And then, of course, the second half of the season is chopped up into different character's journeys. I apologise for the lack of OC in the past season, it reads pretty much just a direct canon of the TV script with the tiniest minor tweaks in it! I hope it wasn't too boring to read and I'll be taking that major note on board for the upcoming seasons! Thank you to everyone who's stuck on a favourite or follow, it really makes my day getting a notification saying so! :) x_


	50. Season 5: 02: Strangers (1)

The billowing tower of smoke behind us dwindled smaller and smaller, until it was merely a speck of dust on the horizon. The weight of what our group had been through did not dissipate so easily. We were together, at long last, but our group was not complete. The struggles we'd all faced along the way…clearly separated us; we were distinctly divided by our own personal horrors and stuck close to those who'd endured them with us. The time we'd spent apart had changed us, some in subtler ways than others. We walked on. We divulged what we felt we could. We walked some more.

The group had taken a well-deserved break close by a creek. Tyreese offered to collect the water, and insisted Carol accompany him. I sat down on the edge of the bank and rolled up my shirt sleeve to check on the burn. Maggie brushed my back and took a seat next to me, whispering, "Hey."

I turned and offered her a small, exhausted smile, "Hey, Maggie."

"Are you okay? Carol said you were a little beaten up." She drawled.

I nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I'll be alright. I'm getting there."

"Here, let me help with that." Maggie took the new dressing out of my hand and began tending to the wound, "It's healing nicely."

I nodded and abruptly changed the subject, "Was there any sign she was ever there?"

Maggie sighed and shook her head, "No. But that just means there's still hope. There was no sign of Glenn and we found each other again, we all found each other again."

"It's Sophia all over again." I uttered.

"No, it's not." Maggie shook her head, finished tying the dressing down and met my raised eyebrow, "Okay, yes, similarities. But we've grown stronger since then, we've taught her how to defend herself, she has more of an advantage-"

"That may be but…was she ever even on the bus? Is she still at the prison? Did the same people take her as Beth?" I began rattling off all of my fears before Maggie reigned me in.

"They are both alive until proven otherwise." Maggie squeezed my hand, "Like, that cat in the box."

I scrunched my face in confusion and finally agreed in defeat, "Okay."

"I have enough faith to carry the both us." She smiled and helped me rise up and carry on.

* * *

"You need anything?" I uttered quietly to Daryl who was sat perched against a tree at the edge of our encampment for the night. I wondered how his legs weren't burning from that position.

He looked up at me, with tired eyes, and drawled, "Sit with me, a while."

We finally had a moment alone, the perfect chance to tell each other the horrors we'd witnessed and played our parts in, but the words struggled to surface. How do you go about reliving such unspeakable moments? We sat in silence for a long while, just listening to the sounds of the surrounding woodland. Without words, we'd resigned to appreciating this moment for what it was, we were alive and we were together. That was just fine for now. I rested my head against his shoulder and he rested his atop of mine. The sound of Carol's approaching footsteps jostled our relative peace.

"Sorry, kids!" she whispered, "I'm here to relieve you."

I rose to my feet slowly, wiping the forest floor debris off of my bottom and noticed Daryl was not following suit. He remained seated, fixated on Carol, an eyebrow raised.

After a lengthy silent back and forth between their wrestled faces, she eventually spoke sternly, "I don't want to talk about it." She then turned to me and uttered, "I just need to forget it." Tyreese had expressed his distress to me earlier on the road, and utilised the exact same wording. I had no involvement in Carol's actions regarding Karen, and Tyreese had displayed immense strength in forgiving her. In my opinion, it was over for me and up to the pair how to proceed with telling the others about that. However, what happened in the bubble of that grove…it didn't bear talking about. Nothing was to be gained from reliving that horror and pain.

I turned quickly back to Daryl and uttered his name.

The sound of leaves rustling dragged us all to our feet in fear. Daryl raised his crossbow and gestured us both to stay well back. He glanced around, minimally, before discerning that it was in fact nothing.

* * *

I was convinced I'd fallen asleep resting upon Daryl's chest, but when the morning broke, I was alone. He was nowhere to be seen.

"He's out hunting. Left real early." Rick drawled in response to my question, unsatisfactorily. I merely stood in silent contempt. He whispered as the others began to stir and wake up, "We'll catch up with him later, we need to get moving."

Again, I folded my arms in unrelenting silence and merely stared back at the man. Rick shuffled his weight to the other foot and whispered in defeat, "He's checkin' for tracks, from last night. No one knows."

I nodded and smiled sarcastically in thanks. The manner in which Daryl had dismissed the noise, obviously protecting us from worrying, had already set off an alarm bell. But I was no longer content with sitting in the dark, regardless of his pure intentions.

The group assembled themselves and carried on. A nearby rustle sent everyone into high alert. Weapons were drawn and ready. Eventually, Daryl stumbled out of the woods into the line of fire of our various weapons. He raised up his squirrels and scoffed, "We surrender."

Daryl uneasily mentioned to Rick that he'd only found squirrels on his early morning hunt, no berries or nothing. I did not flinch from my position between the two men and uttered, "I know."

They both looked sheepishly at each other and eventually Daryl sighed, "No tracks. No nothing. No trace of what was watching us last night."

I muttered, 'Mmmhmm', and marched to the front of the group, to join Michonne who was leading the march. Abraham spent the majority of the rest of the journey trying convince Rick of his plan: find a road and go north until we found a vehicle.

"How're them ribs holding up?" Michonne uttered as I took my disgruntled place beside her.

I turned to face her and sighed, "Oh, they're much better. Well on their way."

"You're worried about something else?" She raised an eyebrow to my unsettled demeanour.

"Keep an eye on them two. They're convinced we ain't alone out here. Playing the tired 'don't want you to worry' card." I uttered quietly and she nodded once in acknowledgement.

Carl's ears pricked up at the tail end of our conversation but I was convinced we were quiet enough. I made a conscious effort to settle myself down into the rhythm of the march.

"What do you make of this Washington plan?" Michonne asked, covering our tracks.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard that mentioned a time or twelve." I scoffed and shook my head, "I'm not ready to roll over and admit I'm never seeing Hannah…or Beth, again. I'd never live with myself knowing I never tried to find them. So, saving the world…it's gonna take a back seat to that, for me, at least, for now."

"Me too." Michonne nudged me and smiled kindly, "We'll find our girls."

* * *

"HELP! HELP ME! OH GOD, NO! HEEEELP!" A man desperately cried out in the distance.

The group skidded to a halt and fell out of formation. Everyone turned to Rick, who pursed his lips but made no motion to move on. His son grew agitated and grabbed his father.

"DAD! Come on!" Carl begged his father to help, "Come on!"

Rick struggled, groaned and eventually relented, following his son's immediate charge towards the distressed voice. We sprinted through the forest; the shrieks and sobs grew ever louder. In a small clearing, a man was thrashing around desperately upon a giant boulder, surrounded by walkers. Carl shot down the walker that had grasped onto the man's foot. The group immediately formed a perimeter around the man and rapidly dispatched all of the surrounding walkers. They fell to the ground in dramatic thuds as the petrified man shivered up top.

Rick instructed the group to fan out, keep watch, and assured the man that he could come on down. The man was shaking violently, he shuddered and skidded down the side of the rock. I was convinced he'd crumple into a heap at the bottom but somehow he found his feet. It was clearer now that this man was wearing some kind of priest's outfit.

"You okay?" Rick asked the man, with a raised eyebrow.

He raised a finger to indicate he'd respond in just a moment, and proceeded to projectile vomit all over his feet. I glanced to my right to see Glenn had joined me in retching and turning away. I snorted and remembered the last time we'd shared the struggle of queasy stomachs.

"Uh, sorry!" the man panted and wiped his mouth, struggling to compose himself, "Yes. Thank you. I'm Gabriel."

"Do you have any weapons on you?" Rick asked plainly.

Gabriel shuddered and laughed nervously, "Do I look like I would have any weapons?"

"We don't give two short and curlys what it looks like." Abraham drawled from the back. I glanced back to see him resting against a tree, chewing on a…twig? I raised an eyebrow to the man, if I could accept the walking caricature that was Abraham, surely this man was just as plausible.

"I have no weapons, of any kind!" Gabriel stuttered, "The Word of God is the only protection I need."

"Sure didn't look like it" Daryl drawled in response to his bemusing statement.

Gabriel stuttered over his words before articulating, "I called for help. Help came."

The entire group was captivated by the man, as if he were an alien. He was so feeble, without weapons, preaching about a God many had dropped minutes into the apocalypse. He didn't make any sense on the surface. He shouldn't have survived this long.

"Do you have any food?" Gabriel asked, nervously, "Whatever I had left, it's just hit the ground."

"We got some Pecans," Carl offered a meagre handful of pecans to the man.

Gabriel graciously accepted the pecans and noted that Judith was a beautiful child. When pressed further by Rick, he said he had a church. Okay, that piece made perfect sense. The priest had a church. Rick made Gabriel raise his hands above his head and searched him for weapons, asking the 3 judgement questions. His answers further baffled us.

"How many walkers have you killed?"

 _"Not any, actually."_ He'd made it this far? Without having to kill a single walker?

"How many people have you killed?"

 _"None."_ Could people really be this lucky anymore?

"Why?"

 _"Because the Lord abhors violence."_ Oh come on…but walkers eating people get a free pass?

"What have you done?" Rick stepped forward into the man's personal space, and uttered, "We've all done something."

 _"I am a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins I confess them to God, not strangers."_

As the group headed out towards Gabriel's church, Rick asked if he was the one watching us.

Gabriel shook his head, "I keep to myself. Nowadays, people are just as dangerous as the dead, don't you think?"

"No. People are worse," Daryl uttered.

"Well, I wasn't watching you. I haven't been beyond the stream by my church more than a few times since it all started. That was the furthest I'd gone before today." Gabriel read the room wrong and defiantly began joking, "But maybe I'm lying. Maybe there's no church ahead at all. Maybe I'm leading you into a trap where I can steal all your squirrels!"

Rick came to a defensive halt and the group instinctively fanned out a bit. Gabriel nervously attempted to diffuse the less than friendly reaction to his ill-received joke, "Members of my flock had often told me that my sense of humour leaves much to be desired."

"Yeah, it does." Daryl drawled.


	51. Season 5: 03: Strangers (2)

It didn't take too long to stumble upon Gabriel's church. The man really had not wandered far at all, it was less than five minutes away. The church stood in a picturesque clearing surrounded by well-maintained flowerbeds and walkways. It was painted brilliant white with a delicate sign swinging in the gentle breeze, displaying: Saint Sarah's Episcopal Church. It was cute.

Rick dictated that he would enter the church first so we could make sure we held on to our squirrels. The group swept the small church, down the aisle, in between and under the pews, every row, and ultimately into two small rooms at the end of the building. It was clear. It was pristine, as if it were awaiting the next service. I snorted at the irony of the inscription boldly plastered above the central stained glass window: 'He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has Eternal Life'. Daryl gestured I follow him into what turned out to be an office. There was nothing terribly exciting in the room at first glance, no cupboards to hide in. Thin blankets were strewn across the couch he'd clearly been sleeping in, his desk was littered with books and papers he'd scribbled in. I brushed a few aside and beckoned Daryl over.

"He's copying out the Bible…by hand." I picked up a notebook of carefully written verses and showed him evidence of the not-so-sinister act. Daryl pointed down at another rewritten bible underneath that which had "Thou Shalt Not Kill" written in huge letters across a single page. I raised an eyebrow and uttered, "Okay, one point in the naïve sheltered man column, one point for crazy murderer column?"

Daryl scoffed and led the way out of the room. The others reported that the church held nothing of immediate danger. It was clear. Empty food cans were lined up around the altar, which cleared up how Gabriel had fed himself all this time. Rick whistled, indicating it was time to regroup outside.

"I spent months here without stepping out the front door. If you'd found someone inside, well, it would have been surprising." Gabriel spoke with a hint of sass as the last of us cleared out; he'd clearly composed himself after projectile vomiting in fear.

Abraham suggested fixing the church's short bus, as quickly as possible, and taking it to D.C. Michonne raised her objections, we needed to rest and gather supplies first. The two squabbled for a moment before Rick ultimately agreed with Michonne; food, water, ammunition, we were running low on all accounts. Abraham looked like he wanted to object, but Glenn shut him down, firmly informing him that whatever happened, we were following Rick and not splitting up again.

"I can give you a hand later, with the bus." I offered Abraham.

"You a bus surgeon too?" Abraham drawled.

"No. My daddy worked in a garage in between singing at dive bars and drinking himself stupid." I smiled, "And my brother was a pretty impressive carjacker in his heyday. I learnt from the best."

"He'd love some help." Rosita elbowed him in the ribs and he grimaced.

* * *

Back inside the church, Gabriel informed us he'd been living off the food from the church's annual canned food drive and a spot of scavenging. He'd cleaned out every place nearby except for one that was overrun by about a dozen walkers. Bob and Sasha agreed to go with Rick to check it out.

Tyreese agreed to babysit Judith, still intent on staying out of action. Rick thanked Tyreese genuinely for his help, and for continuing to protect his daughter. Something about Tyreese jumping to stay out of the fight, it didn't sit well with me. He clearly loved Judith, that wasn't in question, but whether he was slipping into his 'kill them with kindness' rut again…or whether he'd even climbed outta it to begin with, troubled me. Rick forced Gabriel to go with them as he clearly didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him.

"Hey." Daryl glanced back as he heard me approach. He returned to rifling around under the hood of the church bus, assessing the situation. I wrapped my arms around his chest and rested my body against his. I felt his chest exhale lightly and he wrapped his arms over mine. After a moment, I relented and he turned to face me. Delicately, he brushed a stray hair outta my face and drawled, "We're just getting water."

My heart was thundering in my chest. I met his piercing blue eyes searching mine for any hint of what had gotten me so emotional. That wasn't it. I had to say what I so desperately wanted to say. I exhaled lightly and nodded, "I know. I'm just thinking about the last time you left without me saying this. And how if I'd have known that, then I would've screamed it back in your face, because of everything that happened and well we were alone then and now we're really never not with people."

Daryl raised an eyebrow and folded his arms as he leant against the bus.

I scrunched up my body, "And, you kinda caught me off guard, the first time. I mean, I knew it then but it was trying times, although, let's be real, they're always trying times, that is the default setting of these times-"

"Doc-" He rolled his eyes and raised himself off the hood of the bus, stepping towards me as if to calm the neurotic ramblings.

"I love you!" I blurted out and took a step back with my words. My scrunched up body relaxed as soon as the pent-up words finally fell from my lips, "Daryl. I love you and I should have said that before and now you know that, so-"

He silenced me by grabbing me strongly and thrusting his body against mine in blind passion. As if he no longer had the energy to hold himself back, to care whether anyone was around us. His right hand grasped the back of my head, kissing me in a manner that overpowered my better judgement in moments. "Damn, I love you." He breathed against my lips and grinned before kissing me once more. His tongue enticed its way along my lips, with a subtle bite for good measure, begging for entry. As I granted entry, relief erupted inside. Daryl took this as an invitation to truly lose himself. His left hand drifted down my back and descended into my jeans. With that hand planted firmly against my ass, he pulled me closer towards him. Though I fell into him completely, judging by his ferocity, it was still not close enough for his desires. My hand wandered down his neck and across his chest, feeling his exuberant heart beat beneath my palm, beneath toned skin hot to the touch. He graced my neck with firm lusting kisses, and I was lost in the overwhelming feeling that I needed him. Now. Right now.

Neither of us heard them coming; we were too wrapped up in each other's bodies. The sound of a wolf-whistle broke our kiss apart abruptly, and Daryl instinctively moved his back towards them and held me close to his chest. I raised my hands up to cover my already hidden face, in embarrassment. My mind still buzzing from the passion as my face burned red. They'd definitely all just seen Daryl's hand down my pants.

"Get a room, you two!" Glenn wolf-whistled.

"Oh please, Glenn, give them 2 seconds of privacy." Maggie slapped her husband.

"Ready when you are, Dixon." Carol snorted. Daryl merely raised a thumbs up above his head for her. I broke away from Daryl's chest, laughing. He took my face in both hands and led my lips to his for one lasting, gentle kiss before we had to face the music. I felt like our parents had just walked in on us.

"I'll see you after." He drawled and kissed me once more for good measure.

"We can…pick up where we left off?" I uttered as my heart rate gradually returned to almost normal.

Daryl scoffed, "Don't fancy an audience fer that."

"I can be quiet." I whispered and awkwardly pointed to myself.

Daryl laughed and shook his head, "No. You can't."

"Doc, I'll need yer dainty hands for this wiring part." Abraham dropped a tool box next to us and nodded to Daryl as he left.

* * *

I tried desperately to avoid thinking about the weight of the component Rosita and I held in our hands and the repercussions of dropping it on Abraham's head. Luckily he resurfaced and took it out of our hands, lowering it back into its slot.

"Alright, little lady." He soothed it back into the rusty compartment and snorted, "So that's really your type huh?"

I scoffed back at him, "I am not having this conversation with you."

"Well duh, you buffoon, did you not see that reunion kiss?" Rosita raised her hands in disbelief, "Sparks, man."

"It is indeed an unlikely pairing. That is judging purely on the covers we are all too often reminded not to base such judgements on." Eugene drawled monotonously from the front seat of the bus. He'd been quarantined inside so as not to get into any trouble. "The well-spoken, hot doctor and the intimidating, squirrel-eating, redneck. A regular day Romeo and Juliet; or Lady and the Tramp; or Beauty and the Beast; or-"

"Eugene. Please stop talking." Rosita sighed.

"And please don't say any of that around him." I looked directly at the man and he cowered at my direct eye contact, "if you like having teeth."

Rosita laughed and passed me a rag to wipe the oil off my hands, "Can't lie, it was pretty hot."

I laughed and blushed a little, "Uh, yes, it was."

"How did that come about? I mean, there was the sweet post-Terminus hell kiss, that one had nothing on this one!" She stepped closer so that our conversation wasn't as easily overheard.

"Our first kiss was pretty similar to that one." I squinted in the sun, and smiled at the memory.

"Really?" Rosita's eyes widened, "How so?"

"Um, we were drunk, and he'd just saved my life for the umpteenth time, and I felt really safe with him there, and then…we kissed, and his hands were up in my hair, and he did this thing where he picked me up, and toppled us onto the sofa, but it was all movie-scene seamless. And once again, just as things moved south, INTERRUPTED." I raised my hands up in frustration, and suddenly realised I'd raised my voice too. I had gotten wrapped up in my own story.

Rosita sighed, "Damn. That sounds perfect! I wish someone would just take charge and pull me into them like that, dammit there's nothing sexier! Wait, so how long ago was this?"

"That was…maybe weeks after it all went down."

"That's been a long-ass time."

"A lot has happened between then and now."

Rosita uttered, excitedly, "Oh god, you have to tell me everything. I need to live vicariously through it. Romance is definitely hard to come by these days."

"Oh god, it's not really romance!" I cringed at the term being applied to us, "Unless…saving each other from walkers is romantic now?"

"Okay, romantic by my standards is giving me the last stick of beef jerky." Rosita scoffed and we laughed together. It felt nice to have this brief moment of reprieve, to just laugh and talk.

"Uh, Georgia?" Carl uttered, awkwardly from behind me.

I glanced back to greet his sheepish face, "Hey, Tyreese was just here looking for you, they're back now, with a lot of food I'm told."

"Good." Carl uttered sharply and shifted his weight, tellingly. He had the exact same mannerisms as his father when he was hiding something.

"What is it?" I raised an eyebrow.

He gestured for me to follow him around the side of the church. He pointed to a panelling of the wood that displayed something rather distressing.

"Those scratches, they're deep. Knives or something." Carl traced the outlines along the window frames. "Someone was trying to get in. I found something else, and I don't know what happened but whatever it is, we can handle it."

Someone had scratched the words _"you'll burn for this"_ into the outer wall of the church. Carl carried on explaining to me, "It doesn't mean Gabriel's a bad guy for sure. But it means something."

I shook my head as I examined the scratchings, "Yeah. There's definitely a story attached to this. Get your dad." Another check for the crazy murderer column.


	52. Season 5: 04: Strangers (3)

The group enjoyed a feast of canned foods and communion wine. Everyone was dressed in rather hilariously ill-fitting clothes. Gabriel had presented us with the church's charity boxes filled with donated clothes; our own clothes were washed in the creek and hanging up to dry. I picked out a floral tea dress to wear that night; it felt gloriously fresh in the sticky evening heat. Abraham's voice boomed over the revelry, "I'd like to propose a toast. I look around this room and I see survivors. Each and every one of you has earned that title." He looked around the room and was greeted with warm smiles, he then raised his glass and toasted, "To the survivors!"

Everyone toasted the man back, and he continued on, "is that all you want to be?"

The room fell silent. I caught Carol's eyes dart towards the door, though no noise could have distracted her, she was scoping out the exit. Abraham yet again delivered his pitch for Washington, "Wake up in the morning, fight the undead pricks, forage for food, sleep with two eyes open, rinse and repeat. Cause you can do that. I mean you got the strength, you got the skill. Thing is for you people, for what you can do, well that's just surrender. We get Eugene to Washington, we'll make the dead die and the living will have this world again and that is not a bad takeaway for a little road trip. Eugene, what's in DC?"

Eugene jerked to attention and uttered monotonously, "There's infrastructure constructed to withstand pandemics even of this FUBAR magnitude. That means food, fuel, refuge, restart."

"Would you come?" Rosita grasped my attention, whispering through Eugene's drivel, "Maybe you could help out the medical personnel there?"

I placed my glass down on the ground where I sat cross legged and thought about the prospect, pushing the straps of my dress back up, "It's way above my pay grade, reversing an apocalypse. I'm not a viral specialist or microbiologist, surgeons are all about damage control, not vaccinations."

"However this plays out. However long it takes for the reset button to kick in. It can be safe there, safer than since this whole thing started." Abraham drawled, "Come with us. Save the world for that little one, save it for yourselves, save it for the people out there. Don't got nothing left to do except survive."

Judith cooed, interrupting the stifling silence. Rick joked, "What's that? I think she knows what I'm about to say."

The baby girl cooed and smiled up at her father. Rick's smile in return spread right across his face, "She's in. If she's in I'm in. We're in. Let's do it,"

Everyone cheered and clapped at the baby's decision. Wine flowed and glasses were passed around once more.

* * *

"I'm uh, heading out for a smoke." Daryl drawled and nodded towards the door. I bit my lip and he grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet and leading me outside into the open air. We were both 2 glasses of wine in at this point, irrelevant to him, devastating to a lightweight like me.

He led me over to where the bus was parked and shimmied the door open so that I could have a seat. "What a gent'!" I curtsied and parked myself down on the step. As he surveyed the area, double-checking we were in fact, alone, I snatched the rolling paper and tobacco from his hands.

"You know what you're doing?" He rasped with a raised eyebrow.

I scoffed and rolled him a cigarette, raising my eyes to their piercing blue counterpart as I licked the edge of the paper and presented an article of perfection. He scoffed and took the cigarette from my hands, "Damn. Just when I think I've got you all figured out."

I smiled and watched it travel up to his lips and the smoke breathe its way through him. He offered me a draw but I shook my head. 2-wine Georgia plus nicotine…no way. He brushed past me, stepping over me and wandered down the bus.

"Sir, you can't smoke in here!" I laughed and followed him up, shutting the door closed behind me, just in case.

I found him lounging in the back seat, his feet perched against the chair in front. I slapped his feet down and he rasped, "Alright, sorry ma'am!"

I knelt down on the floor of the bus, between his legs and ran my hands up his thighs, pushing him back. I unbuckled his pants and began stroking his already rather solid dick. He sat back against the seat and closed his eyes in pleasure. I leant forward and began sucking on it, gently at first, teasingly. His hands gripped my hair and he writhed in the pleasure; his hips rocking with me. He grabbed both of my wrists and rasped, "Come here." He dragged me up on top of him and wrestled all the way out of his trousers. I ripped the cut and shirt off of him as he lifted the dress over my head. I stood up off of him with the intention of purely taking off my underwear but he stopped me and sat forwards. He ripped the underwear down himself and buried his face in there, gripping onto my ass, alternating the rhythm of his tongue to keep me guessing. I could feel the warm wet juices flowing and felt a single line stream down my leg. My legs began to shake as I gripped on to the over-head rack for support. Just as I felt the overpowering feeling begin to boil over inside of me, he pulled away and smirked. Without the support of his wandering hands, I felt weak, almost stumbling.

I pushed him back in the seat in frustration and climbed on to him. Our lips met once again and I felt my wetness against his lips, "Pretty nice, huh?" He rasped. I raised myself up for the final time and hovered over him, teasingly brushing against his dick, every now and then convincing him it was time. He groaned out in frustration every time I brushed over it, his kisses grew more feverish, his breathing more rapid, his grip on my thighs stronger, almost pushing me down onto him. I paused for a moment, "See, it ain't nice to tease." I kissed him sensually and slowly lowered myself down onto him. As he slowly penetrated me, we both released a moan of pleasure in unison. His hands caressed all over my body as he grinded against me. Every fibre of my body was on fire and pulsing. The rhythm we'd fallen into was already building up to the main event, I was already on the edge. I pushed against his chest and took over, really hitting the target. Shockwaves rippled throughout my body as I erupted, "Oh fuck! Daryl!" Daryl thrust his hand over my mouth as I screamed out in pleasure. He raised himself up and kissed me passionately as a second wave of pleasure soared throughout. I felt his smile crook coyly as he kissed me through the experience and held my body close as it quivered. My heartbeat was thundering away from me; my mind was consumed in a blurry haze of pleasure. Not one for being dominated, Daryl rolled us over onto the back seat and climbed on top of me, plunging himself deeply inside of me. I moaned out again and cursed the tingling rippling sensation that was once again making an appearance. He thrust himself inside me, again and again, as the feeling erupted inside me again. He silenced me once more with his lips and periodically broke away to moan himself. Suddenly he jumped back, abruptly and proceeded to spray his load down the aisle shouting, "SHIT!" A wave of disappointment rushed through me, followed by a sudden wave of horror. I brushed the hairs out of my face, steadily catching my breath as I realised how irresponsible we'd just been. God, that was a close call.

"Shit." Daryl surveyed the damage of getting caught up in the moment.

"You'd better clean up Daryl Junior." I uttered, attempting to gather my breath.

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute." He scoffed and pushed me back down, kissing me passionately. He broke away for a moment and stroked my hair, staring into my eyes, he uttered, "Damn, you're beautiful." I felt my cheeks blush as I kissed him gently, smiling all the while. He paused and looked pensive, "what was that, 3?" I rolled my eyes and rolled him off of me, not particularly caring if he landed in his spunk. He didn't, unfortunately, and began dressing. I picked up my dress and tossed it over my head, shimmied into my boots and looked around for my underwear, dancing around the puddle.

"Lookin' for these?" He tossed the underwear into my hands and pulled me closer to him, running his hands up my thighs. A shiver tingled throughout my still-sensitive body. Somehow, in amongst the resumed revelry, not only had we managed to slip out undetected, for god knows how long; Carol had also managed to slip out the front door. I scorned, and dragged Daryl down to hide as we watched her through the steamed-up windows. She stormed off, double-time, down one of the forest tracks.

"Damn, she's heading for the getaway car." Daryl drawled, concerned.

"I'll get her." I took his handgun and looked for a place to stuff it…to no avail.

"I'll come with you." Daryl stood up with me.

"No. You clean this up!" I whispered harshly and he raised his hands up in the air in defeat, "I'll get her."

With a handgun in one hand and scrunched up panties in the other, I jumped off the bus and headed in Carol's direction upon some rather shaky legs.

* * *

The sound of gurgling oil snatched my attention. Slowly, after stepping into my panties, I raised my gun and crept through the slightly-creepy forest path to find Carol tinkering with the abandoned car. She'd managed to get it started and the hum of the engine had drawn a walker's attention. She exhaled as if annoyed at the interruption, paused for a moment and then proceeded to stab the stumbling intruder in the eye.

"What are you doing?" I emerged from the darkness scoffing my rhetorical question. It was clear she was running away, disappearing into the night.

"I-I don't know." She looked embarrassed and shook her head uncertainly. Pretty weak ass excuse I thought to myself.

"Carol. Come on, let's talk inside, out of the creepy darkness." I sighed and gestured her to follow me back to the church. Just as it seemed she was about to give in, screeching tires rumbled down the road and we ducked behind our car, out of sight. The car skidded down the road, recklessly, revealing a white cross plastered across the back. Just like Daryl had described….

Without a moments hesitation, I picked up the heavy gas canister and slammed it into the tail lights.

"What're you doing?!" Carol screamed out in confusion.

"They have Beth! Daryl said! White cross! That's them!" I shouted as I shattered the lights.

She shakily followed suit and smashed the front lights in with the butt of her gun, "We should get Daryl!"

"No time! You with me or not?!" I hollered as I jumped into the driver's seat.

Carol stumbled and a heartbeat later hurled herself into the passenger seat.


	53. Season 5: 05: Consumed (1)

"So it was just Daryl and Beth after?" Carol asked.

"Yeah." I uttered, my eyes plastered on the red tail lights before us, concentrating on keeping a reasonable distance from them.

"He saved her?" Carol asked.

"From what he told me, I think she saved him. Kinda like how the girls saved us from giving up." I took my eyes intermittently off the road to survey Carol's intense face, "Carol, we'd have lost the car if we'd ran back. Maybe we head back once we figure out where they're going. He's been churning over it all this time. They got cornered, black town car, big white cross took her away. It's gotta be them!"

"I know." Carol met my eyes with purpose and a smile flickered across her face, "I am surprised there's anything left of your face, after that kiss…"

I turned to her in disbelief and scoffed, "CAROL."

"What? It was pretty steamy!" She laughed and raised her hands in jest.

"Can we focus on the covert car chase please?! Oh god, Rick's gonna wonder where we went. But we had to try, it's Beth." I uttered mostly to myself. As far as impulsive, slightly reckless decisions went this was definitely up there. But if there was even the smallest chance we could find a trace of Beth…I was snatching it.

"Daryl's gonna be pissed." Carol affirmed another of my worries. You tell the man you love him, have raunchy bus sex and then disappear into the night on a potentially wild good chase, good one self. She leant over to assess the situation, "Tank's running low. We can end this quick. Just run him off the road."

"Nah, we're good for a bit more." I decided.

"If they're holding her somewhere, we can get it out of the driver." Carol whispered.

"Yeah okay, and if he doesn't talk, we're back to square one." I shook my head, "We gotta be smart, just like Terminus, right now, we have the advantage. We'll see who they are. And then we'll do whatever we have to do to get her back. If we can handle it, we go in, if it's too much, we head back, alright?"

Carol nodded in agreement and rummaged through the bag she'd packed, stuffed with a rifle, ammo and a few tins of food. I shook my head at the clear evidence of her escape attempt as she announced, "They're heading north. I-85."

We exchanged an uncertain look between ourselves; we were heading for Atlanta.

* * *

Their car entered the derelict city and came to a sudden stop at an intersection. Okay, sure there was a stop sign barely hanging on to its hinges, but there wasn't exactly an abundance of traffic cops enforcing these rules anymore.

"What the hell is he waiting for?" I whispered under my breath whilst sinking down a little in my seat, "No one's here to enforce the rules, buddy."

The red glow of the tail-lights switched off and a police officer got out of the passenger side.

"Still setting a good example…admirable." Carol sneered.

"Is that seriously a cop?" I uttered as I squinted into the darkness. Even Rick gave up his sheriff outfit early on. Carol's gun clicked in her lap causing my neck to snap her way.

"He might've seen us." She replied, shutting me down with one glare and sinking down to my level.

We watched the police officer drag two bicycles around the corner and then what could have been a body. We were so engaged with watching the moonlit scene before us, when a walker slammed itself against Carol's window we both just about shit our pants.

"OH! God!" I slapped a hand over my chest to settle my thundering heart rate. Carol shook her head in disgust as the walker's rotting flesh smeared against the window. It repeatedly banged against the glass, but didn't concern us too greatly until the police officer was looking straight back in our direction. He paused for a moment and we held our collective breath, frozen in place. Eventually, he dismissed the walker clearly slamming towards something of interest, and climbed back into his car. The sound of his car door slamming shut expelled the pent up breath from our chests; we sighed in relief. As soon as their car was well on its way, I tried to start the car but by now the gas tank was completely empty. The engine sputtered and wined defiantly, it was done.

"Shit!" I cursed the car and concluded, "They'd have taken the bypass, they must be holed up in the city somewhere. No one in their right mind would go through here rather than round."

The walker rhythmically slammed against the car, and a quick glance around indicated his friends were being attracted to the noise. I sighed, "We gotta move, find somewhere to stay for the night."

"I know a place just a couple of blocks away." Carol declared as she rolled down her window slightly to stab the walker in the head, "We can make it."

* * *

Carol lead the charge a few blocks down, winding our way through dark alleys. Eventually she stumbled upon the back entrance to an office building and began slamming her weight against the door. "Gah! It's stuck."

"Hurry up, Carol." I uttered, impatiently. The snarling bodies were gradually slumping their way down the alley after us. I turned to see Carol was smacking against a stubborn door to no avail, "Back up." I uttered and handed her my gun. I clenched my fists, inhaled once and kicked the door in at the weakest point, it shattered back and we scurried inside.

"Where'd you learn that one?" Carol scoffed.

"Um…" I winced at the thought, "Quality time with the family."

Cautiously we crept further into the building foyer, our feet echoed against the marble floor no matter how carefully we tiptoed. I nudged Carol and gestured my intent to check out the pair of feet poking out from behind the front desk. The thick layer of dust sprinkled on top of them suggested we needn't be worried of their owner, but you can't really be too careful. A deceased walker was huddled underneath wearing a maintenance jumpsuit. I unhooked the keys from the corpse's belt loop and tossed them over to Carol. After we'd cleared out the desk of anything useful (a zippo lighter and a flash light) she led the way slowly through a maze of offices, slim hallways and locked doors.

"You used to work here or something?" I asked as we passed through a doorway marked "Service Centre".

Carol dismissively uttered, "Something."

We pushed a desk against one of the exposed doorways behind us before making our way further into the building, passed another set of locked doors. It was certainly secure and it looked as though it hadn't seen footfall since it all went down. This portion of the building was a long corridor of dorm rooms and the occasional bathroom suite in between them.

"What is this place?" I asked, in confusion after we'd cleared out the entire dorm. It started off looking like offices and all of a sudden there were bedrooms.

"It's temporary housing." Carol uttered quietly.

I glanced into our room for the night, it was pleasantly decorated with sunny colours and paintings of vistas. My eyes fell upon a self-help book on the night stand; my heart subsequently dropped at the title: "Surviving Child Abuse". I glanced back at Carol as she scoped out the rest of the room, "You came here?"

"We didn't stay." She replied, "You should get some sleep, I'll take first watch."

"This place is locked up pretty tight." I remarked at the number of locked doors we'd passed through.

"I know. I'll take first watch." She nodded and took up her position.

"Suit yourself." I exhaled and climbed up onto the top bunk. I flopped down onto my back after pushing a few stuffed animals out of my path. It was quite cosy and warm inside this little room, I looked forward to getting a decent night's sleep on a comfy mattress.

Carol broke her stoic stance by the small window in the corner and glanced back, asking, "Daryl said to me that we get to start over. I don't know if that's even possible? Did you?"

I sighed, paused for a moment and uttered, "I'm trying. I don't know if start over's the right term. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, hike on, no matter how many times you churn everything over, it ain't gonna change it. You know, you could just tell me what's really on your mind, rather than dancing around it."

"I don't think we get to save people anymore." Carol uttered plainly.

I paused for a moment before rolling onto my side and asking her outright, "Then why are you here? That is literally what we are doing."

Carol replied with a disheartened, "I'm trying."

"We're kinda racking up a reputation for saving people, we saved all their asses." I scoffed, dragging her to remember what we'd achieved at Terminus, what we'd managed to stop from happening. I'd worked so hard to prevent the thought from penetrating my mind. Glenn had told me of how close they all were, to dying…to being murdered, horrifically. But we'd all walked out of there.

"Not what I meant." She uttered and turned her attention back to the window. Okay, so not physically save them; save them from themselves, gotcha.

"If I hadn't shown up at the car, what exactly was your plan there?" I drawled, "Where would you even go? What kind of life is that?"

Carol uttered that she still didn't know. I wanted to hear her deny it, or even if she admitted she was in fact running away, I wanted the chance to bring her back from the edge. She was struggling with everything she'd done but really, a lot of it was just out of our hands. Just as I was about to articulate my frustrations, we heard a rattling sound echo from down the hallway.

We both jumped to attention and grabbed our weapons. At the end of the hallway was a couple of opaque doors. First it was just a petite female walker slamming and snarling against the glass, as soon as a pair of smaller, child-size walkers joined in on the effort, Carol and I exhaled in a moment of sadness. Carol began heading towards the door with her knife in hand, I held out an arm to stop her and assured her, "You don't have to." Her fierce eyes ignored me until I repeated myself and stepped in her way, again, "You don't."

* * *

I woke up early the next morning, before Carol, and burnt the bodies of the walker children with their mother. Wrapped up in sheets, I dragged them to the outside generator area. The building surrounded this patch of gravelled roof on all sides, the smoke dispersed well before it reached the top of the building. Carol's frustration with not being able to protect the girls, her own daughter, the entire group, was weighing her down. It was at the centre of her very being, the instinct to protect her own. All of her actions were guided by this notion, I could see that. I needed to do something to physically show her that this was give and take. She didn't need to always be the one taking care of business. She needed to trust that her family now was willing to protect her too.

"The smoke made me think of the column we followed. Thank you, for doing this." Carol uttered from behind me as we watched the flames burn on.

I turned to face her and uttered, "You can't carry them alone, it's on all of us. What happened was awful. It's always gonna be awful. Tyreese says he'll forget it, I'm not gonna forget it. But we leave it here. All of it. Rick and I, we talked about carrying that weight back in King County, back where we left Morgan. We weren't forgetting them; they're still here, they're in everything we do. My heart is fairer because I knew Dale, I let my hair down every now and then because I knew Amy, I fight for what I know is right because I knew Andrea…I look out for others before myself because that's who my nephew was. We're not diminishing the magnitude of what happened; we're giving ourselves the chance to move forward before we get crushed underneath it all." Carol nodded and squeezed my hand as we spent a few moments mesmerised by the dancing flames, "I may never know what happened to Hannah. I accept that I may never get to know."

* * *

"That car was headed downtown." I assembled the gear we'd ransacked from this building and suggested, "We should get up as high as possible and see what we can see."

"We can stay close to the buildings and keep quiet, but sooner or later, we're gonna be drawing them." Carol noted. I nodded in undeniable agreement. We were in the centre of a massive city; the odds were most definitely against us here.

We made our way north, up streets littered with trash and burnt out cars. As we approached one of the larger streets we skidded to a stifled halt and peered around the bend. Oh, fresh hell. The street was crawling with them.

"Okay, we can get up there, there's a bridge." I nodded upwards indicating our path across the street and then…across the skywalk. I rummaged inside my backpack for the notepad I'd pinched from our sleeping quarters and flicked on the maintenance man's lighter. I threw the burning diversion like a Frisbee out of our way and eventually it served its purpose. The walkers trundled towards the distraction. Slowly, we snuck out of sight and turned into a parking lot, to be greeted by a not so friendly parking attendant. A swift stab to the head dispatched him quietly and we sprinted towards the stairwell.

My legs were on fire after clambering up so many flights of stairs. Eventually we followed signs for the connection to the other building and were greeted by a distressing smell and sight. Several walkers were pathetically wiggling about inside sleeping bags, desperately snarling at our feet. We looked at each other in bemusement and got to work dispatching the pinned threats.

"I don't even know what to think." I uttered as we made our way around the walkers trapped inside two tents. The door at the end was chained up tight but gave way just enough for us to squeeze through the gap. We made our way room to room, until we ended up in what looked like an executive's office. Carol looked down upon the burned and destroyed city below, uttering pensively, "How did we get to this?"

"We just did." I uttered, uncertain of a better answer.

"He never asked you, what happened?" Carol asked, "He never asked me."

"No. He doesn't need to know, I'm not sure he'd want to either. He just knows they ain't here."

"It's worse than that." Carol uttered, darkly, "He should know, they all should."

"Sure. I guess." I uttered, losing patience with her depressive tone, "Ain't gonna bring them back though."

"Regardless, they should know what happened, and why it happened-"

"We don't even know that!" I hissed back, "I'm not rehashing something over and over again, when we have more pressing matters to attend to!"

"It's not that easy to just get over-"

I crossed my arms in angst and sighed heavily, "You know my boss found me crying in the supply closet on at least a monthly basis back in Boston, and he'd say the same damn thing to me over and over again, you can be the best surgeon in the world, you're still gonna lose people. Show me a surgeon with a 0% mortality rate. You can try your damnedest, go over everything you think you did or didn't do, right or wrong, but at the end of the day, there's only so much you can do, and then it's out of your hands. I should have held Ethan close, I should have stepped up the second I suspected Shane was slipping, I should have run faster after Sophia, I should have been with Hannah, I should have been with Lori…I should have saved them all, they should all still be here." I uttered as I stormed over to the window and surveyed the physical destruction below me, "But at some point, you have to draw the line, there's only so much you can do, and it's out of your hands. And you can carry them all with you and let the guilt and the sheer pain weigh you down, or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and try your damnedest to save the next one."

Carol nodded, mulling over my monologue and agreed, "Yes." Okay, the latest rambling speech appeared to have hit a chord with the woman, pulling her out of her rut. I certainly hope so, I was fast running out of inspirational pep talks and heart-warming anecdotes. I flinched at something that glinted in the distance and pressed my face up against the glass, squinting.

"You see something?" Carol asked.

"I don't know. Hand me your rifle." I took the heavy gun from her hands and peered down the scope towards a bridge. A van with two white crosses painted on the rear window was wrecked and teetering off the bridge, "Over there!" I handed her back the gun and she took a look for herself.

"It's been there a while. It's definitely one of them." She uttered.

"It's something, right? Some kind of lead." I asked.


	54. Season 5: 06: Consumed (2)

Carol and I made our way back through the small opening in the chained door. Carol pushed her rifle through the doorway first and squeezed on through.

"Georgia, don't!" Carol ordered but it was too late, I was already half way through. A young man was standing before us, holding Carol's rifle. He had the drop on both of us. My gun was stuffed in my boot but I didn't fancy my chances of drawing on the kid before the rifle bullet met my skull.

"Hands up, both of you." He ordered in a shaky voice. Carol rose to her feet as I crawled all the way through the door and raised my hands, "Where are your weapons? She's packing this and you're fighting with just good intentions? I don't think so! Drop all of your weapons!"

"You're really gonna shoot two innocent, unarmed women? Really?" I asked firmly.

"Look, nobody has to get hurt. I just need weapons, that's it!" He spoke at the speed of light, "So, please, drop them, kick 'em over."

I slowly removed the handgun from my boot and kicked it over to the polite mugger.

"Now, back up! I'm sorry about this. You look tough though. You'll be all right." The kid nodded and used a knife to slash to moaning tents open. A few dazed walkers stumbled out of the tents as Carol gripped onto her knife and I picked up a metal kettle to whack in some walker skulls. Carol retrieved her hidden gun and after taking down one walker, took aim at the kid's back. I pushed her gun away just as she prepared to fire and the bullet missed its target. I looked at her for a moment in disbelief as I grabbed the knife out of her belt and dispatched the final two walkers. She scorned and chased after the kid but it was pointless, his diversion worked, he was long gone. We were down to Carol's knife, her handgun and a heavy kettle which wasn't the most ideal weapon. I rolled over one of the tent walkers at my feet and ripped off its Velcro police-style leg strap, which housed a fair-sized hunting knife. I strapped it to my thigh, and it stayed reasonably hidden underneath my dress, the only feasible plus point to my attire. I scorned my decision once again to pick a flowery dress out of that damn box as we ran after the kid; always don appropriate attire for ass-kicking, 24/7.

* * *

"Three bullets. We're in the middle of a city. Three bullets! Sorry, and that knife taped to your leg. How kind! These aren't the best odds, Georgia. He was stealing our weapons." Carol barked as she chased after me, down the stairwell, "Did you think I was gonna kill him?"

I didn't reply and marched onwards through the building. I didn't know what to think about her in that moment, I just needed to focus on tracking the polite mugger down.

"I was aiming for his leg. Could that have killed him? Maybe, I don't know, you'd have jumped to save him, I'm sure. But look, he was stealing our weapons."

"He's a damn kid." I shook my head in disapproval.

"Without weapons, we could die. Beth could die."

"We will find more weapons, case and point, secret leg knife! We get by." I hissed.

"I don't want you to die. I don't want Beth to die. I don't want anybody at the church to die but I can't stand around and watch it happen either. I can't. That's why I left. I just had to be somewhere else." Carol babbled as I wrestled with the stuck door before us.

"Well, you're not somewhere else; you're right here!" I threw my arms up into exasperated quotation marks, "Tryin'."

She hissed, equally exasperated with our butting heads, "Look, I know we've changed. You're not who you were and neither am I. I don't know if I believe in God anymore, or heaven, but if I'm going to hell, I'm making damn sure I'm holding it off as long as I can."

* * *

We made our way in awkward silence towards the van on the bridge. I reached forward and yanked the rear door of the precariously-positioned van open, stumbling back sharply to make way for any potential inhabitants. It was clear.

"Okay. Let's get this done." I uttered and moved to climb inside.

"It's not stable." Carol hissed and snapped her neck back at the sound of walkers stumbling in our direction.

I turned around and pulled myself up onto the floor of the van butt-first. I shuffled back further inside and uttered, "Anchor, then." I patted the floor of the van and she scrambled up after a lengthy moment of contemplation. I rummaged around up front in the glove box and the sun visor. The snarls were distant but gradually becoming ever louder. I was so consumed with rummaging around, I thought we had time.

"Hey! There's more coming, up to your right!" Carol guided my eyes to the sizeable crowd stumbling towards us, "Pretty sure we'll have to fight through."

"Yeah, I see 'em." I uttered as I resumed rummaging double-time. I matched up the emblems on their stationary and the gurney strapped in the back. "GMH…The hospital?"

"Grady Memorial, maybe?" Carol scrambled out the back of the van.

"Grady! The white crosses, might be where they're holing up! Maybe they thought they were helping her, Beth, I mean! She wouldn't know where to find us, so she stayed with them?" I scattered through the paperwork for any additional information. I shuddered and covered my ears instinctively as gunshots echoed throughout the back of the van, "GAH!"

Carol shot her last three bullets and began stabbing wildly at the crowd.

"Carol!" I scrambled up through the van and pulled her shirt back, helping her back into the van. I squirmed as I slammed the door shut on one walkers arm, pushed the severed limb out and slammed the door once more. We'd been overwhelmed rapidly. "Goddammit!" I shuddered as the horde began slamming against the back of the truck, jostling the whole vehicle around.

"No way we'd get through." Carol panted as she saw my meek expression having dragged her back in with no way out. They were slamming against all sides of the van.

"Anything we can use?!" I screamed back at her as the van shook violently.

"Nothing but what we've got!" She screamed.

I shook my head in disbelief at what I was about to do. I clambered back to the front of the van and called back to Carol, "Okay. Buckle up!" She shakily stumbled up to join me. We both strapped ourselves into the front seats and braced ourselves as the van edged forwards. Carol grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, "Hold on." She shouted over the snarls and I shakily nodded my head, holding her even tighter. I clenched every muscle in my body and closed my eyes as the van soared into freefall. It smashed down onto the ground below, airbags deployed and side windows shattered onto us. After a while, Carol patted my arm. I opened my eyes and looked around, by nothing short of a miracle we had landed right side up. The snarls had gone.

Carol, slightly dazed, chuckled next to me, "We're okay. We're okay." I scoffed in disbelief myself and groaned as I shuffled out from under the air bag; it felt like my entire body had been punched.

A walker slammed down onto the hood of the van and we both shrieked in shock, startling us out of the haze. I struggled to regain my composure as another slammed onto the roof and then a few more thundered down like a hailstorm from hell.

We stumbled out of the van to see the fallen walkers splattered around us; well, what was left of them. We trundled back along the train tracks towards downtown until we found a courtyard to hide in and catch our breath. I handed Carol the bottle of water from the floor of the van but she shook her head, "I'm fine."

"Prove it." I insisted, "It was sealed, I'm still standing." She reluctantly took the bottle from my hands and winced as she took a sip. I took the bottle back and placed it down in concern, "You alright?"

"You tell me." She chuckled, "Certain I've had worse." Her shoulder area was black and blue, I examined her quickly and performed a few range of motion tests to assess the extent; it wasn't dislocated or broken, luckily, just severely bruised.

"I can't believe we did that, so stupid!" I glanced back at the bridge. We'd fallen a long way with only a bruised shoulder and a few minor cuts from the window glass.

"We made good time down." Carol noted, "There's only three blocks between us and Grady."

"We'll find a place nearby, scope it out, see what we can see."

"You really think we're going to find out what we need to know, just by watching?"

"It's where we start. So come on." I screwed the lid back on the water and led the way.

* * *

We stumbled into a nearby building. A weak walker was lying on the floor with a machete lodged inside its stomach. It had evidently been around since the beginning, before the head shot rule became universally recognised. It didn't take much effort to slide the machete out of its withering body and stab the blade into its head. I felt my confidence increase slightly now that I was dual wielding blades but we really needed to find ourselves some guns, at the very least some more ammo for Carol's.

"It's them." Carol declared from the window on the far side of the room. I took my new machete and climbed over the crusty corpses to her.

"Alright. Let's see what we see." I uttered and took one of the scavenged bags of crisps out of her hand. She nodded and we settled down to a bit of reconnaissance.

"You said I ain't how I was before?" I uttered, as I crumpled up the empty bag. I frowned at the date on the bag; we weren't exactly sure of the date these days but it was definitely a good year after this. Oh well, hungry as all hell beggars can't be too picky.

"Yeah." Carol uttered.

"How was I?"

"It's like you were still the little girl that needed taking care of, taking orders blindly from the grown-ups, wanting to appease everyone, but now you're a woman, you step up and you get it done."

I took her words on board, and uttered, "What about you?"

"Me and Sophia stayed at that shelter for a day and a half before I went running back to Ed." Carol explained, "I went home, I got beat up, life went on, and I just kept praying for something to happen. But I didn't do anything. Not a damn thing. Who I was with him, she got burned away. And I was happy about that. I mean, not happy, but…and at the prison, I got to be who I always thought I should be, thought I should have been. And then she got burned away. Everything now just consumes you."

I remembered the fights between my parents, vividly; her blue eyes and black arms. He was a desperately bitter, sad man, and she was everything he wasn't. She was successful, classically beautiful and content with what she had; 'You can't pick who you fall in love with, Georgie.' I remember feeling so worried, at age 10 or so. I remember watching him yet again fall asleep drunk on the front porch and thinking…is this it? I'd watched my mom retreat into herself, become less and less vibrant as his grip tightened over her, I had these two distinct memories of who she was, my earliest and final memories; they were completely different people…my mind stumbled over the words, debating whether I even wanted to share my memories of my mother then and there. I empathised with Carol's journey and wondered whether yet another inspirational pep talk was severely misplaced. I just sat back and listened to what she wanted to share.

"Well, hey, we're not ashes. We are what we have to be." I uttered and snapped my neck at the noise rattling near us. We both jumped off the window sill and went to investigate. Automatic gunfire lured us down the hallways. The kid who'd mugged us earlier was struggling with a walker. Upon seeing Carol, he froze in fear, pushed the walker off and it tumbled down on top of her. I sliced the machete clean through the walker's skull and pulled her up.

"No! I'm fine! GO!" She wrestled herself up, wincing at her injuries.

I sprinted down the hall after the kid and found him struggling to pull a bookshelf away from a blocked door. Without really thinking, I slammed into the kid before he had a chance to turn around and pull one of his many guns on me. Startled, he stumbled before the giant bookcase tumbled down on top of him. A walker wedged itself a little further through the blocked door, grasping for the pinned down kid.

"Please, please! I had to protect myself!" The kid pleaded.

"Why were you following us?" I barked down at him.

"I-I didn't! I swear! I thought you followed me!" He stuttered, "Oh god! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE!"

"Bullshit!" I spat down at him, "Pffft, you're tough. You'll figure it out."

The kid began hysterically writhing against the heavy bookshelf and begging for mercy, crying out that he was sorry. I shook my head and threw our recovered backpack over my shoulder, making for the exit.

"Georgia!" Carol barked, "STOP!"

"You said it yourself." I cried, exasperated, "We almost died because of this guy!"

"We didn't." Carol pleaded.

I stifled the urge to grin, pleased she'd taken the bait. I played the part a little longer, sighed, raised my handgun and fired a shot into the snarling beast. The thud to the ground was greeted by a sigh of relief from the kid. I helped Carol pull the bookshelf off of him and he wriggled out uttering his eternal gratitude. As soon as he was free he stumbled over to the window and his eyes grew wider, "I gotta go. I gotta go. They're gonna come. They probably heard the shot. If they find me…"

"If who finds you?" I almost scared to ask.

"Them, people at the hospital!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" I raised both hands to the kid's chest to stop him barging past me, "Don't go, please, is there a blonde girl there?"

"Beth?" The kid asked, "You know her?"

I dropped my hands in disbelief.

"She helped me get out, but she's still there." He uttered.

Carol peered down to the street and uttered, "They're coming."

"We gotta go now! We gotta go! We gotta go!" He repeated over and over as he charged out of the room, limping as fast as he could.

"The building next door has a basement. It's clear. We'll be safe!" The kid declared as we hit the ground floor. He slammed down onto the floor in agony. Carol called up to me to go, she had him.

I sprinted ahead, the next building was in clear sight. The path was clear. I remember the collision that came out of nowhere, but I don't remember hitting the ground, everything just went dark.


	55. Season 5: 07: Coda-WHAWGO

_I was always coming for you, Peach. Carl was desperate to come too. Michonne tried to convince me that she should be the one. It was never a question though, I owed you my life. She said we all owed you our lives…but truth is, I owed you more, so many times over. When Carol told me what had happened, I wasn't mad. How could I be? You did what I'd have done. I was scared. Scared that…this was it._

 _I was prepared to barge in, guns blazing. Tyreese showed us another way. I didn't like it. I wanted them all dead for what they'd done. It went wrong…I can't say my way would've gone any better…but no one saw this coming. Tyreese had to carry you out of there. Daryl had to…_

 _Maggie fell to the ground when she saw her. We all did._

"I…I had a dream about her." I uttered almost inaudibly as Rick's words sunk in, "She held my hand, she wanted me to know that she was there. I…I…it feels like this ain't real."

"I saw it with my own eyes…and I still feel that way, Peach."

* * *

I didn't come around until long after we'd cleared Atlanta, I was out cold in the back of a minivan. I'd awoken wrapped up in Rick's arms; curled up in Daryl's old plaid shirt and my trusty jeans…I remembered the dress…where was Daryl? Rick helped me sit up, slowly. I asked where we were going and what was going on. He waited to tell me what had happened; someone had been very insistent she be there the second I wake up. He led my gaze to the curly brown tufts of hair flowing over the seat in front of us…

My heart stopped instantly, I was winded. Tyreese stirred the napping girl and she clambered over the seat, slamming into me. "GEORGIE!" The tiny little voice that had haunted my dreams for so long shouted in my ear. I held her close, I held her so tight. This must've been some cruel dream. Rick had shuffled out of her line of fire and nodded to me as I stared back at him in sheer disbelief. I was holding her. We both cried hysterically. "You're here?!" I cried out over and over. I may have managed to mumble out an apology but I can't say it was audible. I pulled away a little to take her all in, she looked bigger, she looked fine, she looked well. I stroked her hair and wiped away her tears. She wiped away mine and I laughed.

A darker cloud began to simmer in the back of my mind as I glanced around the minivan and took in the still sunken faces of those around us. My battered body was desperately trying to connect the dots, what had happened? How was Hannah here? How did she…BETH? Where's Maggie? Where's Daryl? Where's Glenn? What the hell is the kid who mugged Carol and I doing sat next to Tyreese?! Where are we going? Rick's face made a motion to say something but I darted away from his gaze. I couldn't bring myself to leave this pure elation just yet. Just one moment more. I was so unbearably happy at seeing her smiling little face, here, unscathed.

We pulled over, under the pretence that I needed to stretch my legs…I'd been in an induced coma…Rick told me what had happened. Carol reiterated the story. Tyreese assured me, that was the truth.

I struggled desperately with the reality I'd woken up to. I'd been hit by a car by Beth and Hannah's captors. We were to be traded for two of their men. Beth was…shot in the head by their leader. Beth was dead. And while we were gone, Eugene had lied the whole time and, and…Bob...I'd woken up to a failed rescue, two deaths and a thoroughly broken group. A wave of guilt shuddered through me and my body ached in agony as the meds began to wear off. What if I'd waited…what if I'd grabbed Daryl or Rick…Beth would still be alive…would we have still found her? Oh my god, Maggie?!

Hannah made her way around her family, everyone basked in the bliss of the small miracle amidst the hailstorm of hell we'd endured. She was the tiny light at the end of the tunnel. I think I was dragged through every emotion possible as we stood on the side of that road. Elation. Confusion. Guilt. Anger. Desperate Sadness and Grief. I took a deep breath and turned away from the group, burying my face in the sleeves of Daryl's shirt. What was this nightmare?!

"You should take it easy." The kid who had mugged Carol and I handed a bag over to Rick as I glared him down, "The doc said all she needs is in here."

"What is he doing here?" I groaned through the pain and snatched the bag from him. It was filled with a generous selection of medical supplies, "Damn."

"This is Noah," Hannah chimed in, "He's my friend, and he was Beth's friend too on the inside. We looked out for each other and escaped together but Beth got caught and I ran back."

I stared back at Noah, my heart thumping as the pieces of it all came together, "Is that true?"

Noah nodded and his voice trembled, "Yeah. We had each other's backs."

I embraced him, wholeheartedly, and heard him attempt to stifle his tears as we held each other. I pulled away and held his face, making sure he heard my words, "Thank you."

"I have so much to tell you." Hannah tugged on my shirt.

I dropped to my knees and held her close to me once more, to prove once again that she was in fact real, my voice trembled as I whispered to her, "Me too. But, first we have to savour this moment, that we found each other…because we're really going to need each other, we all are…because we have to say goodbye to our friend."

The entire group was lifeless, struggling to process the loss of Beth. It was…in vain. It was pointless, preventable, and so desperately unfair. Maggie, Daryl and Noah in particular could not deal with her demise. Maggie was inconsolable. Glenn had stepped up for his wife and made a decision of where we were to take her body. We buried Beth. Those words…they aren't real to me, I never wanted them to be. I had one interaction with Daryl after the funeral. The words he uttered, his eyes dark with hurt, they grated against my heart, "You shoulda come for me; she'd still be alive." The man I needed right then...he blamed me.

* * *

Night came and the sun rose again, just as it always does, but nothing was clearer in the light of the new day. The group, for the most part, was gathered around one of the cars, collectively drowning in what had happened, struggling to grasp at where we go from here.

"It was secure. It has a wall, homes, 20 people. Beth wanted to go with him. She wanted to get him there." Rick addressed the group and suggested we head for Noah's home outside Richmond, Virginia, "It's a long trip but if it works out, it's the last long trip we have to make."

"And what if it isn't around anymore?" Glenn uttered.

"Then we keep going." Rick replied.

"Then we find a new place." Michonne added.

500 miles we travelled to get there. An entire day on the road, I spent it in the back seat of the mini-van, talking with Hannah. Everything she'd been through, I listened with bated breath as the little girl before me held her own. She fought like hell off the bus, Mrs Hanson had turned first, she thinks. She was with two survivors from the bus but they got separated in an attack, she ran and she just kept running. She was scared, she was alone, until she was found by the police officer. She's always trusted in them; her uncles were policemen… They made her work to earn her keep, she helped out the doctor there, she'd told him all about me. Beth arrived not long after and she was pretty beat up. Noah had been there forever so he helped them both stay in line, but Beth was having none of it. They weren't allowed to leave. The three of them wanted to leave together. They tried to, but only Noah had managed to. He'd spent all this time skulking around the city, trying to get them out.

Hannah also told me about Beth stealing medication to save me. The leader had deemed me a waste of resources, in a power play, and left me to fend for myself. Beth had saved my life…my heart ached in grief, Daryl's bitter words ran over and over through my mind. I'd woken up to this nightmare, yes, but I had Hannah. I got my family back. Maggie…she never even got to see her sister, to say goodbye.

When we neared the home stretch, Rick, Noah, Michonne, Glenn, and Tyreese all went out in search of Noah's community. It was supposedly a safe haven, only they found it overrun. Tyreese was bit by one of Noah's brothers who, along with the rest of his family, had become a walker. Noah later told me about the hallucinations; he'd seen the Governor, Lizzie and Mika, Beth, Bob, and Martin. He spoke with them. He spoke with all these people that had died. Beth…had died…and now…

His arm was severed in an attempt to save his life…but it was too late. He passed away in the car ride back to our temporary camp. It was just too late for him. The loss of blood and the infection ravaging his body took their toll.

"We look not at what can be seen but we look at what cannot be seen." Gabriel addressed the mourners, "For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made from hands, eternal in the heavens…in the heavens."

I couldn't bring myself to watch Sasha toss the sprinkles of dirt on top of her brother's grave. I couldn't bring myself to…to do this again. I closed my eyes tightly, made a plea that our gentle giant had finally found peace and left this place. We left another one behind.


	56. Season 5: 08: Them

Three weeks had passed since Atlanta, since our three friends had left us. We forced onwards, our supplies rapidly dwindled. We were exhausted, emotionally, mentally, physically.

60 miles out, we headed in every direction in desperate search of water, mostly. A day and a half had passed since we'd run out. Carl, Michonne, Hannah and I had trekked a little way north but found nothing other than an abandoned, stripped out car. Underneath one of the front seats was a broken music box. Carl presented it to Hannah, half-heartedly, "Hey, kinda like the one you had."

"Maggie gave it to me." Hannah coughed. I rested a hand on the hood as I felt a little faint. The sun was trickling through the canopy but the humidity was the real killer.

"I'll bring it to her." Carl smiled and stuffed it into his backpack, "even though, yeah…it's broken."

"Are you alright? You're pale." Michonne brushed a hand against my forehead.

I opened my eyes and shook my head, "Yeah. Just the heat, and that so hungry you're kinda feeling like you're digesting your own stomach thing…"

Daryl, Sasha and Maggie's group were the last to return, also empty-handed. We climbed back into the truck without exchanging another word and continued as far as the steam we were running on carried us. It came to pathetic spluttering stop not long after. We were completely out of fuel.

"We're out. Just like the other one." Abraham drawled.

"So we walk." Rick deduced and sprung open his door.

* * *

We dragged our weak bodies down the endless stretch of road. We were all running on fumes. I followed Daryl's eye line back behind us; he completely avoided my gaze as he did. A pack of walkers was stumbling after us, in a speed that almost matched our own.

"We're not at our strongest." Rick drawled as he too clapped eyes on them, "We'll get 'em when it's best. High ground, something like that. They're not going anywhere. It's been three weeks since Atlanta. I know you lost something back there."

My heart sunk to the pit of my rumbling stomach. I hadn't exchanged more than a look with Daryl since Beth's funeral, and then after Tyreese…it was like I didn't exist. Rick parted with the words I so desperately wanted to. Daryl was checked out, a part of his soul had caved in, he closed himself off and reverted back to the cold shell of his former self. I wasn't there. I hadn't seen Beth's life end before my very eyes. I'd literally slept through it. That didn't mean I was spared the pain. I was hurting and struggling, and ultimately bitter at how he was now treating me.

"She's hungry." Daryl glanced across at Baby Judith fussing in Rick's arms.

"She's okay." Rick consoled the baby girl, "She's gonna be okay."

"We need to find water, food." Daryl drawled.

"We'll hit something in the road." Rick turned his eyes towards the clear blue sky, "It's gonna rain, sooner or later."

"I'm gonna head out. See what I can find." Daryl handed his rifle over to Rick and swung his crossbow off his back.

"Hey, don't be too long." Rick ordered as he accepted the gun and glanced back at me. I shook my head and hung back further to where Michonne was picking up the rear of the group.

"I'll go with you." Carol suggested lightly.

"I got it." Daryl shook his head.

"You gonna stop me?" Carol chuckled and followed the man deep into the forest after glancing back at me in solidarity. I was glad he wasn't heading out alone, again.

* * *

"Found this when we were looking for water." Carl handed a music box over to Maggie.

"What is it?" Maggie uttered, coughing to clear her dry throat.

"I think it used to play music." Carl noted as she opened the lid. The tiny blonde ballerina stood motionless inside, "It's broken."

"Thanks, Carl." Maggie almost smiled.

"I thought you might like it." Carl smiled and wandered onwards.

Gabriel offered his consolation to Maggie, he spun a story about hair shirts and Maggie rejected his offering with the fact that she didn't need to be told about it. She used to be religious, as her father before her. He offered to be the one she confided in, whenever she was ready to talk; I winced at his suggestion, I'm sure he had the purest of intentions, but all this time, there was nothing you could say that would take all of this away. There was no magic formula to make any of this bearable. She immediately shot him down, he didn't know Hershel, he didn't know Beth and he didn't know anything about the pain she was feeling. She reminded him of the words etched onto his church; he had let his parishioners die. I felt a tear stream down my cheek as a broken Maggie stormed away from him.

"Hey." Michonne grabbed my arm and caused me to hang back a bit, "You risked your life. It was in no way your fault. Not one person here blames you."

I wiped my cheek, and shook out of her grasp, uttering, "I do."

* * *

The gap between us and the walkers behind us was gradually closing in, indicating our snail's pace. Our boots scuffed across the concrete road as we desperately forced one foot in front of the other.

"Rick." I coughed through a dry throat, "That bridge."

I stopped and waited for him to slowly catch up to me. The idea sloshed around in my head for a while as we'd trudged up closer and closer.

"We line the edge…they fall on in." I sighed out heavily, plonking tired limbs against my hips.

Rick nodded and raised his eyebrow in a telling fashion. He made his way through the procession imparting the plan to the others whilst I trudged further along the road to scout whether or not this would in fact work. Carl, Hannah and Judith settled on the safer side of the bridge with Father Gabriel, and Eugene. Rosita and Maggie stood in the middle of the bridge as a back-up, in case any walkers trickled past us, down to the children.

I lined one edge with Rick and Glenn whilst Sasha, Abraham and Michonne lined the other. The plan was to lure the walkers towards us, and at the last second side step out of the way causing the lunging bodies to tumble down the embankment below. Let gravity do the work for us. The slope was steep enough to corral them down there. Eventually the walkers slumped their way up to us and we had our first volunteers. It was working like a charm; dispatching the undead with minimal expenditure of effort.

However, one member of the team was proving to be quite the liability. Sasha broke formation and lunged at her nearest walker, slamming her knife into its skull with exhausted angst.

"Sasha! Not the plan! NOT the plan!" I barked at her, garnering the rest of the groups attention.

"Stay in line. Flank her. Keep it controlled." Rick ordered the group to deal with her deviance. We had to fan out further and handle the walkers heading for us manually.

"Plan just got dicked." Abraham announced and drew his knife.

We flailed wildly at the walkers dragging themselves towards us.

"STOP." Michonne dragged Sasha's arm back, narrowly avoiding her swinging knife, "Just get out of here." Sasha snatched her arm back and carried on dispatching walkers left and right; she'd gone full on beast mode.

Rick roared, "Peach! Down!" and I instantly ducked as Rick swung at a walker that was heading right for me, but as he regained his footing he was caught on the arm by another walker behind him. In heroically perfect timing, just as the walker was preparing to bite down on Rick, Daryl grabbed the rotting body and flung it to the ground, stomping on its head.

Abraham roared out in annoyance as his arm was sliced by Sasha's wild flails. Michonne pushed the woman fiercely to the ground and decapitated the last walker before seething, "I told you to stop." Sasha rose to her feet and the two women appeared as though they were about to square off, but as Michonne did not back down, Sasha sauntered down the road nonchalantly.

I made my way over to Abraham and inspected the slice on his arm. He merely chuckled and took my hands in his giant ones, "That chicken scratch is the least of our worries, darlin'."

A small smile flickered across my face at the giant man's booming voice. We all followed Sasha's storming lead and carried on.

* * *

"Dad! Look!" Carl nudged his father and alerted him to the spread of abandoned cars further ahead.

"I'm gonna head out in to the woods, circle back." Daryl headed on his way after rejecting Carol's request to come with him. The cars were searched meticulously. If we were in the market for dusty car manuals and gum wrappers, we'd have hit the jackpot.

There was nothing here.

"You wouldn't have found me." Hannah pulled herself up onto the hood of the car I was leaning against. I turned my weary eyes towards her, and raised an eyebrow.

"If you hadn't chased after them. Maybe we'd still be there. Me and Beth." She stared out towards the setting sun.

"I don't like dealing with maybes, honey." I exhaled deeply, "They drive you crazy."

"That's what I mean." She tapped my arm to drag my attention to her, "Dawn shot Beth in the head. Daryl shot Dawn in the head. That's what happened. You did none of that. You found us. The crazy police lady did the rest. When we didn't escape, that time, I told Beth that my mom would always say…if you never get knocked down, you never learn how to fly. When I get mad…I think about that."

I trembled and rubbed my face, annoyed at my own emotions. It was supposed to be the adult comforting the child not the other way around. Hannah rested her head on my shoulder but I turned and fully embraced her instead. "You got a really good head on your shoulders, baby. I know. Don't you worry about me, okay? Don't worry about us. We're all just sad. We're all just trying to process and get through it. It's gonna take time for us all to do that. But we'll get there, we always do. We fall down…and we come back stronger. Just like your momma said."

* * *

We settled on a verge, in the relative shade, resting, waiting for Daryl to return to us. Branches snapped as he approached. Everyone weakly jerked in that direction. He returned to us, empty-handed.

Abraham dragged out the only spoils from the car scavenge, a small bottle of bourbon. He stroked the bottle, raised a silent toast to the sky and sipped on the golden brown liquor. The group was divided between watching him in horror or watching the ground beneath their feet in exhaustion.

"So all we found is booze." Tara uttered.

"Yeah." Rosita answered her rhetorical question.

"It's not gonna help." Tara winced as the dehydrated man downed the bottle.

"He knows that." Rosita stated matter-of-factly.

"It's gonna make it worse." Tara added.

"Yes, it is." Rosita stated with a hint of sass.

"He's a grown man." Eugene asserted, "And I truly do not know if things can get worse."

"They can." Rosita uttered.

The tired conversation was interrupted by a pack of wild dogs snarling their way out of the woods towards us. Viciously the fanned out, snarling, and barking at the people in their way. The group warily skidded back or rose to their feet, eyes clamped on the dogs. A littering of muffled gunshots spread across the pack and they whined and slumped down dead. Collectively, our eyes glanced back along the fire line to reveal Sasha as the shooter. Rick was overwhelmed for a moment before he shook his head and rose to his feet. He picked up a branch and snapped it in two, fashioning kebab sticks for our dinner. I turned down the first round of meat that Rick offered to me, my stomach was still unsettled but second time round he forced it into my hands.

Noah also refused to eat the hounds' meat at first, visually overwhelmed with the dog collar left strewn in the road. When Sasha returned with more firewood, his hoarse voice managed to utter some words to her, "Your brother. He tried to help me. I don't know if I'm gonna make it."

"Then you won't." Sasha replied, visually stern, before she walked away from him, "Don't think. Just eat."

As we all made our way through the last of the meat, Gabriel pulled off his clerical collar and tossed it into the fire-pit. He watching it burn up in front of him, and didn't flinch for a second. Maggie watched him do so, the expression on her face began to soften away from pure apathy.

* * *

The group continued on at first light. Our progress was downright pitiful now; the walkers from before would've easily overtaken us.

"Maggie, take a drink." Glenn offered his wife the near empty plastic bottle.

"No." she uttered barely audibly.

"Okay. How about you just talk to me?" Glenn uttered back.

"I don't think I thought she was alive. I just didn't." Maggie's eyes dazed off into the road before us. My weary, heavy eyes rose up to her and she turned to face me, "I know I said I did. I really wanted to believe that after Daddy…" I felt my face tremble at her words, my eyes began to sting as she carried on but the tears…there was nothing left to cry out, "I really needed us both to hope, I don't know if I just couldn't." Her eyes welled up and she wiped a stray tear from her cheek, turning back to the road before her, "And after what Daryl said, I hoped she was out there, alive. And then finding out that she was and then she wasn't in the same day. Seeing her like that, it made it feel like none of it was ever really there." She turned back to me one final time, "I'm…grateful for what you did, I am; risking your life to find her…I'm just jealous that you got to be out cold and then you got your happy ending…you didn't have to see her, I'm jealous of that. Before, this was just the dark part and I don't know if I want to fight it anymore."

"You do." Glenn uttered to his wife, "You do. That's who you are. And maybe it's a curse nowadays, but I don't think so. We got Hannah back. We found each other. We fought to be here. And we have to keep fighting. Drink."

Glenn re-offered the water, and this time she accepted it. I wiped the tears from my eyes with my arm. As Maggie's plight was laid out before me, I suddenly felt very fragile. As if directly on cue, Abraham slung a beefy arm over my shoulder, dragged me closer to him and walked with me, "See." He uttered kindly with bourbon breath, "Doc, none of this is on you. Tearing yourself to pieces, you don't need to make this worse."

Sasha snorted from behind us as Abraham took another swig of his liquor, "You're making it worse."

Abraham chuckled, "Naw, the way you're going, you're the one that's making it worse."

Sasha scoffed and threw a dirty look his way. Abraham's face settled and sighed, "Hey. You're with friends."

Sasha's face fell from contempt and she uttered 'we are not friends' to the man before storming on ahead with purpose. Abraham snorted and continued to drink his liquor. Okay, most of the time this GI Joe was a little much, but he had his moments and was certainly proving himself to be a good friend to me.

After Maggie had drank her share, Glenn offered the bottle to Daryl, "Daryl."

"Nah, I'm alright." He refused point blank.

"Daryl." Glenn didn't accept his answer.

"Don't." Daryl shook his head once with intent. He was completely devastated by the death of Beth, we all were, but he was harbouring a deeper feeling of remorse and guilt and plain anger. He clearly felt personally responsible for not being able to save her, for watching them take her away. He couldn't fix this. If he'd given me the time of day, he'd realise that I'd been harbouring the exact same feeling all this time. I, however, had allowed the others to drag me back from the edge. I let people in, I knew that I needed them to begin to get through this. Maggie was just beginning to take those steps herself, articulating her pain and allowing us to hear her.

"Hey, we can make it together." Glenn assured him, retracting the water as he clearly wasn't biting, "But we can only make it together."

"Tell 'em I went looking for water." Daryl uttered half-heartedly to Abraham, ignoring my gaze once again. He diverged away from the group and trampled his way deeper into the woods, alienating himself again from the rest of us.

* * *

A stack of bottled water lay out perfectly placed in the middle of the road. Was this a damn mirage? Were we finally losing our collective marbles? The consensus was gathered that this was in fact before us. A collective hallucination? Interesting.

Upon closer inspection, the physical bundle of bottled water was accompanied by a note which read, "From A Friend." We all assembled, on high alert, around the package. All angles were covered as Daryl emerged from the bushes once more. Rick showed him the note and he immediately armed his crossbow in suspicion.

"What else are we gonna do?" Tara implored.

"Not this." Rick rasped, "We don't know who left it."

The groups eyes were flittering from the trees to the precious, tempting bottles of water. Were we really at this point? Did we even have another option? What were the odds this stack of clear, fresh water was really laced with roofies?

"If that's a trap, we already happen to be in it." Eugene asserted monotonously, his eyes clamped on the water, "But I, for one, would like to think it is from a friend."

"What if it isn't? They put something in it?" Carol asked

Eugene disagreed and snatched up one of the bottles.

"Eugene!" I called out.

"What are you doing?" Rosita scowled.

"Quality assurance." The man uttered as he aimed to take a gulp. Abraham slapped the bottle out of his hand, glared deeply through Eugene, who minced back. Even after everything they'd been through together, Abraham wouldn't let Eugene be the guinea pig.

"We can't." Rick articulated Abraham's lash out.

Mere heartbeats after the altercation, as the group composed itself, thunder rumbled above us. The skies opened and awarded us a downpour. The rain fiercely pounded down upon us, pattering against our dry, tired skin. Everyone exhaled in pure elation, smiles even crept their way across exhausted, defeated faces. Mouths and palms were raised and ready to catch the water, laughter tickled throughout the crowd in joy and appreciation of the revitalising end to a lengthy struggle. Tara and Rosita lay down in the middle of the road, literally soaking up the refreshing downpour. Hannah splashed her hands in the puddles forming on the road; Carl lowered Judith and encouraged her to do the same. I felt my cheeks begin to hurt as I watched them and looked around at the smiling, thankful faces. They were a stark contrast to the 3 individual faces that stood out from the crowd.

Maggie. Sasha. Daryl. They all stood reflectively, without elation, motionless amongst the streams of rain. I couldn't be certain Maggie's face was purely littered by rain water, her red eyes gave her away. The relief of rainfall, was not enough to diminish even a fraction of their devastation. I struggled with my own emotions, wrestled with guilt and pain. But as the majority danced in the downpour that signified the end to but one of our struggles, I ultimately resigned myself to clutching at any and all victories, no matter their size or relativity…we needed them, for they were so few and far between. We needed to chase them and accept them and cherish them where they arose. I would allow myself to feel this fleeting joy and I would savour it whilst it lasted.

"I'm sorry, my Lord." Gabriel sobbed into the rain.

"Everybody, get the bags, anything you can find!" Rick disrupted the celebration and set the group in motion, collecting the rainwater in our own empty bottles. "Come on!"

The group grew ever anxious as the wind picked up rapidly at our location. The oncoming storm was approaching faster than we'd have ever thought, it wasn't so far from where we were.

"We have to keep moving!" Rick decided it was too risky to stay put and collect any more. Daryl hollered he'd found a barn nearby and the group rushed off after him.

Rick, Carol, Abraham, Glenn and Maggie led the charge to clear the barn, slowly scoping out the situation. Maggie hung back nearer the doorway where the rest of the group was poised and ready to charge in after them. Maggie nudged a door open to her left after clapping her eyes on a stack of holy bibles. I stepped into the barn with the intention of covering her as she explored the room without back up. She froze in the doorway, and I eventually saw what had her stumped. A severely sodden, moulded female walker was writhing around on the floor, weakly. Maggie didn't move a muscle until the walker was a few steps from her and then bent down to stab the walker in the head.

"She had a gun." Maggie uttered, without turning to face me. Her eyes dragged around the little den the walker had lived in, at all the different items strewn about. She noted, in disdain, "She could have shot herself."

"Some people can't give up." I replied and then glanced back at our group, "Like us."

Maggie's shoulders fell and I decided to leave her to her thoughts, returning to the barn entrance.

* * *

We tried our best to sleep with the storm rattling outside. Maggie fell asleep almost instantly as she lay down beside our fire. Abraham watched over Sasha, whilst still sipping from his bottle of bourbon. I closed my eyes with baby Judith sleeping on my chest and Hannah sleeping beside me. Lying there, beside Maggie, with my two nieces snuggled into me, I finally felt some semblance of relief. Glenn wrestled with soggy sticks, desperately attempting to keep their fire next to ours going. I kept my eyes closed and drifted off to their conversation.

"He'll be okay. He bounces back better than we do." Carol uttered.

"I used to feel sorry for kids that have to grow up now. In this." Rick explained, "But I think I got it wrong. Growing up is getting used to the world. This is easier for them."

"This isn't the world." Michonne uttered plainly, in defiance, "This isn't it."

"It might be." Glenn uttered, quietly, "It might."

"That's giving up." Michonne uttered.

"That's reality." Glenn retorted, with a heavy heart.

"Until we see otherwise, this is what we have to live with." Rick iterated, "When I was a kid, I asked my grandpa once if he ever killed any Germans in the war."

My eyes popped open at the mention of Grandpa Jack.

Rick continued, "He wouldn't answer. He said that was grown-up stuff, so I asked if the Germans ever tried to kill him. But he got real quiet. He said he was dead the minute he stepped into enemy territory. Every day he woke up and told himself, 'Rest in peace. Now get up and go to war.' And then after a few years of pretending he was dead, he made it out alive. That's the trick of it, I think. We do what we need to do and then, we get to live. But no matter what we find in DC, I know we'll be okay. Because this is how we survive. We tell ourselves that we are the walking dead."

I held Judith close to my chest and turned their way. The group surrounding the fire exchanged glances with each other, before returning to the fire before them. Daryl spoke up, shaking his head in disagreement, "We ain't them."

Rick looked up to his right-hand man, as he snapped another twig in defiance.

"We're not them." Rick uttered and grabbed his focus, "Hey. We're not."

"We ain't them." Daryl rose to his feet and left the fire behind, grabbing his crossbow and loitering at the far entrance to the barn.

* * *

The next morning, I'd awoken before the others. Well, everyone besides Daryl. He sat up with his back against the barn wall, playing with his fingers. I smiled at baby Judith who stirred as I rose to my feet and wandered over to him. I sat by his side and uttered, "You should get some sleep."

He made a noncommittal noise.

"It's okay to rest now." I uttered as I glanced over to look at Sasha who was also beginning to stir.

"He was tough." Daryl drawled, engaging in the first real conversation we'd had.

"He was." I uttered feebly.

"So was she." He uttered, I knew instantly he meant Beth. I turned sharply to face him, he met my gaze and nodded, "Carol said I should feel it. Didn't wanna. What you did, Carol told me all you did, was real brave. I didn't mean what I said."

"Maybe it would have…gone a different way."

"Naw, I'da done the same thing. We all would've. I shouldn't have put that on you." He drawled, "It wasn't fair."

I felt my face tremble as I relived the past three weeks, the deepest lows I'd felt since I awoke to this nightmare. I'd awoken to this, helpless, and the words that fell from his mouth that night, with such disdain, the one he blamed for her death, it ate away at me for all these weeks.

He rummaged behind me and handed me the music box, "It had some grit in it. I fixed it."

"It's Maggie's." I wiped a tear away from my eye subtly and rose to my feet, making my way towards the door.

"You don't wanna go out there." Daryl drawled vaguely.

I ignored his warning and stepped outside into the fresh cool morning air. I took a sharp intake of breath at the sight before me as I closed the door shut. Due to the storm's power, most of the walkers were pinned under fallen trees or incapacitated in turmoil. This storm should have torn us apart. But it didn't.

I sat down on a fallen log which overlooked a vast open field. I wrapped my arms up in the sleeves of Daryl's shirt and sighed. The sun was slowly rising from behind the barn down below, exposing beautiful streaks of pink and orange across the sky. It was breath-taking.

"What're you doing here?" I asked Maggie as she stepped into the clearing. I'd watched her tiny figure make a bee line up the track towards my position.

"I'm here for this." Maggie nodded towards the sunset, and then returned to me with a kind-hearted smile, "For you."

I shuffled over and she sat down next to me.

"I didn't want to lose this precious lead, I thought…"

Maggie shook her head fiercely, "I'm sorry for being unfair to you, I couldn't process any of it. You've been like a sister to me, my daddy thought of you as one of his own-" Maggie's voice trembled and she fought to compose herself, "We'd have all done the same thing. It's just the way it turned out…it's not fair."

My own voice trembled as I spoke, relieved to be able to confide in her once again, "My own daddy was a real piece of work, so I never really had someone to look up to, to guide me like that…in life, in everything…he showed me what having a father was supposed to be like."

She reached forwards and grabbed my hand, uttering, "He'd be proud of us. And we got our littlest sister back. Thank you for going after them like that, without a second thought or thinking about yourself, it means so much to me."

I nodded shakily and bit my lip before uttering, "I woke up to this cruel nightmare, Maggie. I want to wake up again, this isn't it." Maggie pulled me in to a tight embrace and we cried together.

When she pulled away she wiped my eyes and uttered, "We're gonna survive. Both of us will. That's the hard part."

I nodded and wiped away the fresh tears, desperately fighting to regain my breath.

Maggie turned behind her and produced the music box, "Daryl fixed it." She opened the box and wound up the key. We both watched the tiny dancer remain motionless. We exchanged a look and jumped a little when the box made a jarring clunking sound. We burst into laughter.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Maggie chuckled.

"Hey. Hi." A male voice greeted us as he slowly marched around the side of us, his hands raised in the air. Maggie dropped the box and we both sprung to our feet, aiming our guns at the intruder.

"I didn't mean to interrupt." The man spoke kindly, "Good morning."

I glanced to the side to Maggie.

"I'm sorry." He continued on, "My name is Aaron. I know, stranger danger. But um, I'm a friend. I'd like to talk to the person in charge, Rick right?"

"How do you know-" I started but Maggie spoke over my question with her own, "Why?"

"I have good news." Aaron smiled.

The music box jerked into life and played a twinkly tune in perfectly creepy timing.


	57. Season 5: 09: The Distance (1)

We brought Aaron back to the barn. By this time, everyone had woken up.

"Hey. Everyone?" Maggie crept into the barn, tentatively, "This is Aaron."

The entire group scrambled to their feet as the stranger's name fell from her lips. They raised their weapons sharply and headed towards the stranger. Daryl shoved passed the man and surveyed our surroundings, checking for followers, he cast a dark look and nudged me to head back inside the barn in front of him.

"We met him outside. He's by himself." I explained as I tossed his backpack to the ground, "We took his weapons and we took his gear."

Daryl patted the man down, rather aggressively and nodded towards Rick. He was clear.

"Hi." Aaron nodded, attempting to mask his nerves. The group stared back at the stranger in reply, taking in his cookie-cutter appearance. He was immaculately dressed and well-presented. Judith began to stir and wail as the silence dragged on. Rick handed his daughter over to his son and continued eyeing up the stranger.

"It's nice to meet you." Aaron politely added and stepped forward towards Rick. The wary group raised their guns in defence and he stopped firmly in his step, gesturing an apology and compliance to their response.

"You said he had a weapon?" Rick drawled. Maggie handed over a small revolver and Rick checked it over before stuffing it inside his belt. "There something you need?"

"He has a camp nearby." I spoke for the man's intentions, "He wants us to audition for membership."

"I wish there was another word." Aaron spoke jovially, "Audition makes it sound like we're some kind of dance troupe. That's only on Friday nights." He surveyed the room and cringed slightly as no one even flinched at his joke, "Um, and it's not a camp. It's a community. I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you all to follow me back home." The room was unreceptive of his words, raising eyebrows or folding their arms in protest. Aaron read the vibe of room and continued on, "I know. If I were you, I wouldn't go either. Not until I knew exactly what I was getting into." He turned to face me and asked, "Georgia, could you hand Rick my pack? Front pocket, there's an envelope. There's no way I could convince you to come with me just by talking about our community. That's why I brought those. I apologise in advance for the picture quality. We just found an old camera store last-"

"Nobody gives a shit." Daryl interrupted the man's apology as Rick opened an envelope filled with photographs of this so-called community.

"You're absolutely 100% right." Aaron nodded to Daryl and turned back to Rick. "That's the first picture I wanted to show you because nothing I say about our community will matter unless you know you'll be safe. If you join us, you will be. Each panel in that wall is a 15-foot-high, 12-foot wide slab of solid steel framed by cold-rolled steel beams and square tubing. Nothing alive or dead gets through that without our say-so. Like I said, security is obviously important. In fact, there's only one resource more critical to our community's survival. The people. Together we're strong. You can make us even stronger. The next picture you'll see inside the gates. Our community was first construct-"

Rick walked up to Aaron and punched him square in the face, knocking him out cold.

"Was that entirely necessary?" I jumped as Aaron flopped to the ground.

"So we're clear, that wasn't a 'let's attack that man' look, that was a 'he seems like an okay guy to me' look." Michonne seethed in Rick's face.

"We've got to secure him. Dump his pack. Let's see who this guy really is." Rick ordered, "Everybody else, we need eyes in every direction. They're coming for us. We might not know how or when, but they are."

"Me and Georgia, we didn't see him." Maggie informed him, "He just approached us, hands up."

"If he had wanted to hurt us, he could've." I uttered flatly.

"Anybody see anything?" Rick ignored our input flat out.

"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn noted.

"Alright, keep looking." Rick ordered.

* * *

"That's a hell of a right cross there, Rick." Aaron chuckled, complimenting Rick's strength as I patted a cold wet towel against his forehead.

"Sit him up." Rick drawled.

"I think it's better if-" I began to object.

"It's okay." Aaron looked up at me with kind, genuine eyes. If he'd wanted to, he could've easily taken Maggie and I out. We were alone and distracted; emotional. But he didn't, he approached us, from the front, unarmed.

"He's fine. Sit him up." Rick ordered again.

Michonne roughly pulled Aaron up and I sat back. Daryl patted my shoulder and offered a hand up. I paused for a brief moment before accepting it. His hand wrapped around mine lingered for a moment more before he circled back to re-join Rick.

"You're being cautious." Aaron nodded, "I completely understand."

"How many of your people are out there?" Rick demanded, "You have a flare gun. You have it to signal your people. How many of them are there?"

"Does it matter?" Aaron spoke after pausing a moment. My heart dropped at this response initially, I couldn't explain it, but I trusted him.

"Yes." Rick seethed, "Yes, it does."

"I mean, of course, it matters how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there?" Aaron asked, "Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say, eight, thirty-two, four hundred and forty-four, zero…no matter what I say, you're not going to trust me."

"Well, it's hard to trust anyone who smiles after getting punched in the face." Rick drawled.

"How about a guy who leaves bottles of water for you in the road?" Aaron asked. We finally had an answer to the mirage. It was him.

"How long you people been following us?" Daryl rasped.

"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail, your creativity in dispatching them. Long enough to see that despite a lack of food and water, you never turned on each other. You're survivors, and you're people. Like I said, and I hope you won't punch me for saying it again, that is the most important resource in the world."

The group looked around at each other, one by one you could see them falling for Aaron's words. He spoke so impassioned and articulately, he had us hooked. Rick stepped up to the man with purpose, "How many others are out there?"

"One." Aaron asserted, looking him dead in the eye, "I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words, if it's not pictures, what would it take to convince you that this is for real? What if I drove you to the community? All of you? We leave now, we'll get there by lunch."

"I'm not sure how the 15 of us are going to fit in the car you and your one friend drove down here in." Rick drawled.

"We drove separately. If we found a group, we wanted to be able to bring them all home." Aaron explained, "There's enough room for all of us."

"And you're parked just a couple miles away, right?" Carol asked.

"East on Ridge Road, just after you hit Route 16." Aaron explained, "We wanted to get them closer, but then the storm came, blocked the road. We couldn't clear it."

"Yeah, you've really thought this through." Rick seethed.

"Rick, if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here." Aaron explained, "You know, light the barn on fire while you slept, pick you off as you ran out the only exit. You can trust me."

His words made sense, but Rick stood steely and cold, undeterred. After everything we'd been through, nothing Aaron could say would break down his walls. Never again. Michonne stepped forward and offered to check out the supposed cars.

"There aren't any cars." Rick seethed.

"There's only one way to find out." Michonne offered up.

"We don't need to find out." Rick shot her down.

"We do." I uttered as I stepped forward, "You're choosing not to believe him. You know what you know and you're sure of it, but I'm not. I'm not sure."

"Me neither." Michonne agreed.

Rick shook his head and scorned before turning back to the stubborn women before him, "Your way is dangerous, mine isn't."

"Passing up some place where we can live? Where Judith can live? That's pretty dangerous." Michonne uttered plainly, "We need to find out what this is. We can handle ourselves."

"So that's what we're gonna do." I turned back to face Rick, "We'll see. And then we'll know."

"Not just you two." Daryl drawled and shook his head.

"I will too." Glenn offered up to him and turned to his wife, who nodded in agreement, "Maggie and I'll go."

Rick scorned once again and realised the way the wind was blowing, "Abraham." He turned to the beefy man who was wearing an identical sceptical expression to Rick's. He uttered back coolly, "Yeah. I'll walk with them."

"If there's trouble, you got enough firepower?" Rick asked me.

"We got what we got." I replied, sincerely. He handed over Aaron's gun to me, which I reluctantly took.

"The walkies are out of juice." Rick dictated, "Peach, if you're not back in sixty minutes, we'll come. Which might be just what they want."

* * *

"Eyes open, everybody." Glenn instructed as we pottered down the empty road, "Weapons up."

Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, Abraham and I readied our weapons.

"You see someone coming at us, you fire." Glenn instructed.

"Copy that." Abraham's voice rumbled from behind me. I jumped at the booming tone and Abraham chuckled to himself again at my reaction. It was becoming a game to him.

"So if we see someone, we just shoot them?" Michonne reiterated with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a good question." Maggie turned to her husband, uncertainly.

"What if they're someone like us?" Michonne asked, "What if Aaron's telling the truth? What if they're someone who has nothing to do with this?"

"We're five people walking with guns." Glenn dismissed her fevered questions, "No one's coming up to say hello."

"That's exactly what happened." I uttered. Aaron rocked up to us, no problem.

"If it's someone like us, we should be afraid of them." Glenn added, "He said he was watching us, right? It means he saw us yesterday. And after everything we've done, why would he want us to join his group."

"People like us saved a priest." Michonne scoffed, "Saved a girl who rolled up to the prison with the Governor. Saved a crazy lady with a sword. He saw that."

"I don't know what he saw." Glenn exhaled.

* * *

We stumbled across an array of mighty fallen trees strewn out across the road. The storm had well and truly decimated the path. I breathed out a sigh of relief; it was adding up.

"He was telling the truth." Michonne announced to the group as a parked RV and well-maintained car came into view. Just as we were prepared to lower our weapons, twigs began snapping in the woods directly to our left.

"Not one step closer, asshole!" Glenn barked as the group took cover and aimed in their direction.

Eventually, and not too elegantly, two walkers stumbled out of the bushes and fell over each other anticlimactically face-planting the ground.

"I got 'em." Abraham sighed.

"We got em." I nudged the ginger giant and we dispatched them together with relative ease. Abraham gestured me to cover him as he led the way into the RV. He veered off to the left and checked the bathroom and back portion whilst I swiped the front. The RV looked like something straight out of a catalogue, it was pristine. I almost felt bad traipsing mud all over it.

"All clear?" Abraham barked.

"All clear." I jumped again at his deep, dulcet tone. Glancing around the RV brought back a wave of bittersweet memories for me. It was…chilling; it felt like stepping into someone else's memory. The Georgia from day one, what would she think of how far she'd come? If I could have told her what's to come, she wouldn't believe a word. I thought back to all those nights sleeping on the RV floor, I thought back to Dale, how he took us in as his own, how he loved Hannah as if she were his own granddaughter…and then I remembered his eyes, so desperately full of fear, grasping at mine, and to Daryl putting him out of his misery.

"Gracious Ignatius." Abraham chuckled and swung open a cupboard door. He plucked out a can of spaghetti rings and chortled, "Oh, it has been a while."

I smiled and turned to leave the RV. He uttered quietly, with a pain to his tone I'd yet to hear, "Back at the fire truck, after Eugene let us in on his bull-shittery...I almost killed him."

I stopped in the doorway and turned to face the man's confession.

"I socked him so hard, I was convinced I'd smacked his brain's right out his head." Abraham uttered, repentantly, "Everything I'd been fighting for, the mission, was swept out from under my feet and I just lost it. I wanted to check out, right then and there."

"You were so focussed on fighting for this one thing, a pretty major thing; you didn't notice everything else along the way." I smiled up at him, "The friends you were making, the girl that was falling for you. We'll find something else to fight for, we always we do, that's our thing. And you've got some time to catch up on what you've missed, whilst you were stuck in GI Joe mode."

Abraham looked down at the can of spaghetti rings in his hand, uttering, "Right." and I bounced off the RV leaving him to his thoughts.


	58. Season 5: 10: The Distance (2)

The group assembled back in the barn with the pile of canned goods we'd scavenged from the RV.

"This. This is ours now." Rick informed Aaron.

"There's more than enough." Aaron nodded.

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp." Rick drawled.

"What do you mean?" Carl stepped towards his father, "Why wouldn't we go?"

"If he were lying or if he wanted to hurt us, but he isn't and he doesn't." Michonne surveyed the defeated expressions of her friends, "We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody saying something if they feel differently."

"I don't know, man." Daryl shook his head. I almost snapped my neck to hear his response and sighed when he added, "This barn smells like horse shit."

"Yeah." Rick rasped, "We're going."

Michonne and I sighed in relief.

"So where are we going? Where's your camp?" Rick asked Aaron.

"Well, every time I've done this, I've been behind the wheel driving recruits back." Aaron explained, "I believe you are good people, I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends lives on it just yet."

"You're not driving." Michonne cut him off, "So if you want to get home, you'll have to tell us how."

"Go north on Route 16."

"And then?"

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"We'll take 23 North. You'll give us directions from there." Rick announced.

"That's-I don't know how else to say it-that's a bad idea. We've cleared 16. It'll be faster."

"We'll take 23. We leave at sundown."

"We're doing this at night?" Sasha asked.

"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates during the day." Rick explained, "If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they now we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you. You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger." Aaron pleaded.

"Tell me where the camp us, we'll leave right now." Rick suggested once more.

Aaron made a motion to speak but his eyes fell to the floor.

Rick rose up and instructed, "It's going to be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can." Rick stormed out of the barn and was rapidly followed by Michonne.

"I'm sorry it has to be like this." I whispered to Aaron, "If you knew what we'd been through-"

"It's alright." Aaron nodded up to me, "Please, don't worry."

* * *

I drove the first car out with Rick, Michonne and Aaron. I thought I saw Daryl make a motion of protest but ultimately bowed his head, exhaled and headed back to the RV. A flicker that he still cared was enough; it wasn't like I was driving Aaron out alone, I had pretty solid back-up. We left the second night descended, the RV chugged along behind us. Michonne and Aaron conversed along the way, during which Aaron mentioned his house. The idea of having his own actual home…stunned us all. Michonne flicked through the photographs in Aaron's back pack, she stopped abruptly and turned to face him, "Why don't you have any pictures of your people?"

The red flag caused us all to sit up in the car.

"Oh, I took a picture of the whole group, but I didn't get the exposure right. When I tried to develop it later, it just-" Aaron began explaining, only to be abruptly cut off by Michonne asking Rick whether he'd asked him the questions. Rick shook his head and drawled, "No."

Michonne turned to Aaron and coolly asked, "How many walkers have you killed?"

Aaron paused for a moment and asked, "I'm sorry, what?"

I glanced over to Rick and then into the rear-view mirror as Michonne asked the first question again. Aaron uttered, "I don't know... a lot."

Michonne asked, "How many people?"

Aaron looked her dead in the eye and uttered, "Two."

"Why?" Michonne asked the final question.

"Because they tried to kill me." He stated matter-of-factly, but with an overwhelming air of remorse.

There was no perfect answer to the questions. My mind drifted off into the distance as we carried on along the abandoned back road. Everyone's answers were drastically different every time those questions were asked, even those sat in the car were drastically different. I thought about the first person I'd killed, the driver of that car. I didn't even think about it, I don't think it even crossed my mind that I was killing him, not in the moment. I just wanted to get out, to get back home; I threw myself out of a speeding car to get away from them. I thought about the first person Rick had killed. Dave, was it? He'd pulled first. Michonne...she eluded to her first kill, she didn't know his name, one of the Governor's men tracking her after she left Woodbury. The first person you killed, that was the point you turned. The deaths you'd played your part in, sure enough carried their own weight. But when you decided to take that first life, you had your back against the wall, when you chose to survive, that person turned you. My train of thought was interrupted by Rick pulling out some kind of radio from beneath his seat. I glanced over and noted it looked like a spy radio from an old movie, Aaron had used this to eavesdrop on us.

"You-you were listening to us?" I looked back from the radio to Aaron.

"I already said I was watching you. Yes, I was listening." Aaron stated. My heart began racing as I questioned every interaction I'd had with the man, searching for further proof we couldn't trust him.

"It means his people could have had one too. They could've heard our plan. This isn't safe." Rick barked beside me.

"SHIT!" I shouted as the car slammed into a herd of walkers. Blood splattered across the windscreen, saturating our view. The head lights blared out red as they were covered in pulverised walkers. My heart pounded in my chest as we mowed down the walkers, we can't stop!

"PEACH!" Rick barked as he braced himself.

"They were right behind us! They would have hit us. Now they can get out!" I screamed back at him.

The car continued to ram through the herd. Eventually it skidded out of control to a dramatic halt at the side of the road. We all panted and pushed open the doors, to assess the damage.

"I don't see them!" Rick barked.

I clambered on top of the guts-drenched car and scouted over the oncoming horde, "No, they're gone! They got away!" The RV was nowhere in sight, Hannah was far away from this.

"All right, we'll circle back and find them. Let's go." Rick helped me slide down the front of the car and rush back inside.

"They're okay?" Aaron whimpered in the car.

"Yeah." Michonne barked at him.

"All right we can take a left up 23 a couple miles." Rick uttered, "Jefferson Avenue."

"Jefferson Avenue." I repeated as I tried to restart the car.

"We gotta get out of here!" Aaron roared from the back seat.

"Come on. Come on! COME ON!" I screamed at the car as it resisted. The overwhelming amount of gore now stuck in the engine had well and truly killed the car.

"Let me see what I can see!" Michonne shouted as she burst from the car and began pulling limbs out from underneath the hood. I turned the car over and over as it spluttered pathetically.

"They're coming for us!" Aaron continued to roar, "We need to leave now!"

"Hold on!" Rick barked, averting our attention to a flare firing into the sky.

"Shit." Aaron's eyes grew wide.

"Who did that?!" Rick barked back at him.

Aaron shook his head violently, "LET ME OUT! This is over! Let me out! I need to get outta here!"

"What's going on?" Rick barked.

"Did you see that?" Michonne called from outside. Aaron, now full on panicking, kicked his door open which knocked Michonne off her feet. He began sprinting down the road, into the woods, and after that flare.

"Michonne! LEAVE HIM!" Rick called after Michonne as she chased down Aaron, "We need to find our people!"

"They saw that flare!" Michonne implored, "They'll think we shot it. This is how we find them!"

I slung the rifle from over my shoulder into my hands and followed Rick into the woods. Michonne lead the sprint until we found ourselves trapped with walkers surrounding us on all sides. Amongst the chaos, I got separated further and further out from the others. It was futile, there were too many between us, I fell back even further and tried to go around to get back to them. I ran back firing wildly at those following me, I almost didn't hear the snarl in my ear. I shrieked and fell to the ground, the rotten corpse snarling viciously on top of me. I moved to the side and slammed its head down on the rock beside me. As its body came limp, I struggled out from under it and staggered on.

I hid around a thick tree, waiting for walkers to bypass me. A sudden violent surge of nausea rippled its way through my body and I slapped a hand to my mouth as I felt dinner rise up. Oh god no, oh god no, I'm not getting discovered because of this! I raged internally, quelling the feeling, breathing as quietly as I could. As I cursed my body's response to running around fighting for my life, post-dinner, I heard Aaron's desperate pleas and they provided a direction to sprint towards.

"NO! GET OFF!" He barked and desperately tried to kick the beast away but it staggered back towards him. His hands tied behind his back like that, he was a goner. It took an entire heartbeat's consideration before I lunged at the walker and shoved it to the ground, unsheathing the knife strapped to my leg and plunging it into the walker's skull. I returned to Aaron and cut him loose.

"Run if you want." I uttered, "I got other things to worry about."

"We can make it together. But we can only make it together." Aaron repeated Glenn's words, "Glenn said that. I was listening. You're Georgia. You're the doctor. You save people. You didn't leave me here to die. We need to work together, to get the others and get back to Eric."

"Who's Eric?"

"PEACH?!"

"GEORGIAAA!"

Rick had fired a flare into a walker's eye, dragging us back to their location. They were rapidly running out of bullets as they screamed out my name. We opened fire on the horde surrounding him and Michonne, they spun round in shock to greet their saviours. Aaron dropped his gun and offered to be re-bound, fully aware of the group's opinion about him.

"There's no time for that shit," I picked up the gun and tossed it back in his hands.

"We're going that way!" Rick nodded and led the way towards where the flare was believed to have come from. I nudged Aaron to follow him and took up the rear, "the flare was towards the water tower!"

* * *

As we reached the location, Rick whistled out and Daryl whistled back. He was stationed outside a warehouse door that radiated light from inside. He rattled on the door and began running out towards us. He tossed his crossbow on the hood of a burnt out car and buried himself in my tight embrace. The adrenaline from fighting gradually dissipated in his arms, and the trembling emotions began to flood their way through my heart. He lifted me up in pure elation and spun me around, eventually setting me down on the ground, uttering, "Jesus Christ, women drivers." He was a little taken aback by his own gesture, I stumbled back too, after all this time, wrestling with our demons, it had felt so damn good to be back in his arms. Before my brain had the chance to spew out something awkward, Carl and Hannah erupted from the building and collided with Rick and I, respectively.

"Your sister okay?" Rick drawled out in concern.

"You all okay?" I held Hannah tight and eventually released her. She nodded and started recapping her view; watching us mow down a lawn of walkers was totally insane and sick. I concurred.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine!" Carl beamed as his dad embraced him back. Rick slapped Daryl's hand in reunion and was brushed passed by Aaron. He scattered around the welcoming faces, desperately calling out for Eric.

"In there, man." Daryl pointed to the building and Aaron sprinted inside. Maggie brushed my arm and assured me that I should head in too. Rick held out a defiant arm and filed in before me.

"I'm okay. It's like a volleyball injury. It's a broken ankle." A man I presumed to be Eric chuckled. He had his foot wrapped up in a make-do splint, "At least that's what Maggie said. I like her. It's not a big deal."

Overjoyed, Aaron rushed over and kissed him. I was the one this time to step back and prevent Rick from going any further. I met his eyes and opened mine widely, gesturing that we should give them a moment.

"Something good came out of today!" Eric grinned and presented Aaron with a license plate. Aaron's face fell as he took it in his hands. Eric's mouth opened his mouth in jovial disbelief, "You lost the license plates."

"I lost the car." Aaron stifled a laugh.

"Maybe it's for the best. That monstrosity out front can run. It's so ugly it'll scare the roamers away." Eric chortled and the pair laughed together.

"Hi. I'm Eric." Eric beamed up at Rick and I once he'd noticed us standing near the doorway.  
"I'm Georgia." I made my way towards him and nestled beside them.

"Rick." Rick uttered whilst still keeping his distance.

"I'm a doctor. Can I look at that for you?" I asked and pointed to his broken ankle.

"Oh yes!" Eric nodded, "I know all about you! Yes, please, do."

Rick and Aaron left us to it.

"He's going to make some embarrassing speech about saving my life now." Eric snorted.

"He's a really nice, really brave guy." I exhaled and asked if I could remove his other shoe, "I want to compare the temperature, assess the circulation."

"Now that he's gone, should I be worried?" Eric asked.

I shook my head and smiled genuinely, "No. I just want to make sure that's the best splint for you. That's the go-to first aid one, I know a couple more. Do you know which toe I'm touching, Eric?"

"Piggy?" He scrunched up his eyes with his guess.

I nodded and chuckled, "Good work."

"Is it true that you hacked a man's leg off, MacGyver-style, and saved his life?" Eric asked. I stopped working on his foot for a second and met his eyes. He continued on, "Mullet man told me. Well, he did also say 'so don't worry friend, she's hacked off legs before, she'll sort you out', which was less than comforting at the time, but that's incredible! I mean, just think of what you could do with Pete, he's our surgeon and he's done amazing things himself, but he's had a sterile practice. I'm sorry, I'm just so glad we found you guys."


	59. Season 5: 11: Remember (1)

We tentatively edged closer towards the external gate trundling open. Aaron led the pack, aiding his hobbling partner. There were no sentries lining the walls, just an eerie giant industrial sheet metal gate rolling back slowly. I brushed Carl's arm gently to keep up, something about the burnt out house shells lining this street had captured his attention. He nodded and took his place next to me.

We stopped just short of the entrance as Aaron ushered his partner on to another who helped him up inside. A man with a weasel-ish appearance emerged from behind the gate, he looked taken aback but not in the least bit intimidating. A trashcan lid falling off to our left sent everyone's arms raised and ready. Daryl's arrow pierced the perpetrator…an ill-timed possum.

"Brought dinner" Daryl joked, alleviating the silent tension.

The weasel man merely stared back and turned abruptly to Aaron.

"It's okay." He reassured his fellow resident. "Come on in, guys." He gestured for us to step over the threshold. Daryl and Glenn led our group inside, with Abraham consolidating the rear. The heavy imposing gate trundled closed behind him.

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The weasel man finally spoke and was met with a resounding lack of response. "You stay. You hand them over."

"We don't know if we wanna stay." Rick brought himself to the front of the group, cradling baby Judith nonchalantly in one arm and toting his revolver stoically in the other. Rick's imposing presence dwarfed that of the nervous man.

"Its fine, Nicholas." Aaron expressed with intent.

"If we were gonna use them, we'd have started already." Rick drawled with a scoff.

"Let them talk to Deanna first." Aaron reasoned with his weasel chum.

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham grunted from the back of the group.

"Deanna knows everything you'd wanna know about this place. Rick…why don't you start?" Aaron suggested.

Rick glanced back at us, and a distant flicker of movement caught his eye through the bars of the gate. "Sasha." He drawled and she turned without missing a beat, sniping down the rogue walker that was stumbling passed the RV outside. It went down in a silent single shot. Nicholas proceeded to scarper and trundle the interior sheet metal gate across the bars, blocking the outside out completely. "Good thing we're here." Rick exhaled and marched up the driveway.

* * *

"Hello. I'm Deanna Monroe, please do come in." The woman was short in stature and kind in her expressions. She led me into her living room, it looked completely…perfect, and jarringly clean. I couldn't get over how clean it was.

"Georgia…Walsh." The words fell from my lips with the strangest of feelings. I hadn't used my surname in quite some time. I'd never had to. I guess there wasn't a high risk of running into someone with the same name anymore, when running into living people period was just as unlikely. I hadn't been a Walsh in a long time.

"Not Grimes? Hmm. Do you mind if I record our conversation, Georgia?" she smiled warmly at me. I felt like I was in the principal's office, awaiting some kind of talking-to, or a request to represent the school. I couldn't figure out her angle.

"I guess that's okay." I uttered and she nodded for me to take a seat. Her lounge looked like it was lifted straight out of a Pottery Barn catalogue. The throws and decorative knick-knacks meshed together so well, I would have complimented her had I not been so desperately trying to adjust to my surroundings. I almost felt bad parking my grimy bottom on her beautiful couch.

"We're all about transparency here. I was a congressperson, Ohio, 15th District. I intend to ask the members of your group what they did before all of this, to get to know them. Rick suggested I interview you next, you're his right hand lady, as it were?"

I picked up the insinuation in her tone but didn't respond, instead I glanced out the window, watching an elderly couple walk hand in hand passed the house. The gardens were so immaculate. The older gentleman had said something humorous to his companion; she'd slapped his arm in jest and snickered. I was mesmerised by them; I hadn't seen anyone their age in so long.

"You are a doctor; you've devoted your life to helping people." She continued on. Her hands were clasped on her knee, she'd positioned herself openly, just like those job interview websites would train you to do. Her words sat still in the room as I processed them. I help people…something about those words didn't sit well with me. They rattled around my memories of the past few weeks. Yeah, I'd sure enough helped Beth…and Tyreese. I clearly wasn't excelling at my life's calling.

I cleared my throat and masked the emotions, "Um, yes." I propped my elbow on the arm of the chair and rested my chin on my fist.

"Your daughter has left quite an impression on the other girls. She's not your average 10-year-old, she's very bright, and I know you had a prime hand in that." Deanna smiled warmly. Throw in a compliment or two, people love hearing about how awesome their kids are, I followed Deanna's plays carefully, she was a seasoned pro.

"She's her mother's daughter." I smiled weakly, not technically lying and not divulging an ounce of our story...I could have had Hannah at 17, entirely plausible. I honestly hadn't thought about Olivia in a while, just as with Beth…I never saw her, only composed my own version of events. Ethan still haunted me, as morbid as it sounds the idea that my niece could have been reunited with her mother and brother gave me some mild comfort on the road. I didn't feel like I'd deserved this second chance. Everything had built up to indicate there was no such thing.

"This place is the start of sustainability. A planned community, with its own solar grid, cisterns, and eco-based sewage filtration systems" Deanna explained the community to me as if she were a salesman.

"So you got lucky then, stumbled across this." I interrupted her.

"My family and I got stopped on a back road heading back to Ohio, I needed to help manage the crisis, but the army directed us here. They were supposed to come later. They didn't. But there were supplies here and we made the best of it."

"The eco community came with sheet metal fences?" I snorted.

"A giant half-finished shopping mall nearby provided the material, my husband Reg is a professor of Architecture. He and my sons had help as more and more people arrived here. We had our community." Deanna beamed as she spoke of her little community.

"You've been behind these walls this entire time?" I couldn't believe their luck. I was actually mildly jealous of these people, alongside my concern for them. They were completely oblivious.

"We need people who have lived out there. Your group is the first we've even considered taking in for a long time." Deanna explained.

"You should keep your gates closed." I shook my head.

"That's precisely what Rick said to me." Her voice peaked with intrigue.

"I'm not scared of the walkers, Mrs Monroe; I'm scared of the people that have survived them, they're the true monsters. Just when you think you've seen it all, you discover another level of evil. Stay out their long enough you'll turn into one yourself, that's just the way it is. We've all killed people, every last one of us, the kids too."

"Rick mentioned that also."

"Mrs Monroe-"

"Please, Deanna." She interrupted me.

"Deanna, why are you not fazed by this?"

"We have also lost people. I have also done things."

"What have you done?"

"I exiled three men from here that didn't work out. And we both know that's as good as killing them."

"I really don't think that's the same." I sighed honestly and rose to my feet.

"I'm excited to get to know you, Georgia. I'm tremendously gifted at reading people, and I foresee you blending in here famously. We have only the one doctor here, a surgeon named Pete. I'm sure he would greatly appreciate the help, should you decide to stay."

* * *

Deanna assembled our group in her back yard after she'd spoken with each of us individually. She'd requested our weapons be stored whilst we were inside the walls; we all turned to face Rick who merely nodded his consent.

"They're still your guns. You can check them out whenever you go beyond the walls." Deanna announced from her pedestal atop of the porch, down to her new constituents in the garden below. Our group was piling up our hoard of weaponry atop a trolley cart. "But inside here, we store them for safety."

Carol stepped up last and gingerly stumbled out of her rifle strap, delicately laying it on top and almost bouncing backwards. Her eyes were wide, her stature open and kind.

"Should've brought another bin" The woman hauling the trolley joked. Carol chuckled out loud at the woman's joke and smiled back sweetly. What the hell was she playing at?

"Carol." I uttered in her ear as the woman pulled away. She smiled sweetly at me and took me further out of any Alexandrian's earshot.

"It's time to be invisible." Carol smiled quietly and buttoned up the collar of her shirt.

I raised an eyebrow, in confusion, and Hannah piped up, "They never expect sweet little girls to be tough."

I turned abruptly at her comment and Carol smiled down at the little girl, brushing her arm and winking, "Precisely."

Hannah skipped her way towards a group of girls roughly her age that were playing jump-rope outside Deanna's house. Carol stood with me and watched as she waved her little hand and shook hands with them all, even hugging one of them. She parted with some more words and they all broke into laughter. It wasn't long before Hannah was jumping and playing along with them.

"The advantage. Remember?" Carol whispered to me, "See what we see. Play the part."

I turned to face her, riling over my own words; that's how we win, we take whatever advantage we can. She didn't wait for any protest, she merely winked and wandered off into the community with a spring in her step.

"You must be Georgia." A handsome man towered over me extending his hand to shake. I squinted in the bright sun towards him and didn't shake his hand. He repositioned himself to shade me from it. What a gent I thought to myself. He stood next to me and watched as Hannah played jump-rope with the girls. Other than her more distressed clothing, she blended in seamlessly.

The man smiled, "Sorry, I'm Spencer, Deanna's son. I didn't say."

"I didn't ask." I uttered cynically and turned to see his hand was extended, yet again. I looked up at his raised eyebrow and Carol's words caused me to relent and shake hands with the man. Sure, I'll play the part.

"That's alright. It's the kind of moment manners pale in." He shook my hand for a tad longer than usual and upon noticing, he dropped my hand slowly and cleared his throat, "My mother asked me to introduce you to Pete, the surgeon here."

I shook my head, "No."

Spencer looked me up and down, surveying every inch of my abrupt posture, "No?"

Dammit, Georgia. Play the part! "I, uh, maybe later? It's all just a bit much."

Spencer smiled kindly and nodded, "Okay, you're right, you should settle in. His practice is just to the right of the main gate and his house is literally just there, just so you know. His wife is Jessie, really nice, too, would love to meet you when you're ready."

I nodded and Spencer left me to it.

Abraham trundled up and rasped in my ear, "He invite you to prom too?"

I slapped his beefy arm and he snorted away. "Shut up." I sneered.

"George." Rick drawled as he approached us. We were mesmerised for a few moments with the sight of Hannah laughing with other kids her own age, smiling, having a carefree time. It was jarring but as time passed, it became comforting.

"Uh huh?" I didn't break my gaze. I couldn't break my gaze.

"They've given us those two houses." Rick pointed up the street. I turned around and scoped out what he was pointing at: two grand sprawling mini mansions at the end of Willowbank Drive.

"They…just gave them to us?" I asked.

"Yeah, we're sleeping together, in the big house. No separating." He drawled before he left, "I'm so happy for you, Peach but do not let your guard down."

"I won't." I nodded and returned to Hannah who was calling me over to join.

* * *

The houses were beautiful, expansive, and decorated immaculately. It was like stepping into the pages of a catalogue. Carl made his way over to the sink in the stunning open-plan kitchen and hesitantly hovered over the faucet. With a flick of the wrist, high pressure running water sprayed out of it. The sound of the spray hitting the sink floored us. We all exchanged looks of confusion and delight before fighting our way to the showers. The house had 5 bedrooms, most with their own en-suites and a palatial main bathroom on the ground floor. The water was a glorious, embracing temperature, the towels were fluffy and pristine white, the shampoos were heavenly scented. We stumbled through the experience like it were a fever dream.

Jessie, Pete the surgeon's wife, had stopped by whilst I was showering. She dropped off even more goodies, and some of her own spare clothing for the women to fight over. They were really lovely pieces, sundresses, jeans, clean t-shirts, everything. She hung around and waited for me to reappear.

"Excuse me, Georgia, right?" Jessie extended her hand for me.

I took her hand, genuinely and nodded, "Yes."

"It's really nice to meet you, I wanted to hang back and make a point of meeting you. My husband is so eager to meet you too, he was hoping you'd stop by today. I'm really glad that he'll have a hand now, he's been swamped lately running the show solo." Jessie smiled but her eyes didn't match up. She overused a lot of intensifiers, really, so; it took out the authenticity to her words. I dismissed my hyper-alert over-analytical brain.

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you, Jessie. I'll make a point of meeting him soon." I smiled warmly.

"Oh, I um, I don't know if now is a good time, but Deanna's staff need to compile these assessments. One per family." Jessie handed over a pile of papers and was met with a quizzical look.

"Assessments? There's a test for entry?" I scoffed.

"No! No. Assessments, is…not the right word. Everyone had to do them, it goes along with the tapes, it helps Deanna make an informed decision about your role in the community." Jessie's eyes widened as she back-tracked, "It covers anything she might not have gotten around to asking, and it's in your own words; there's no rush. It's just basic things, like age, education, family-"

"Arguably, these things don't matter. And isn't scribbling out a list of deceased family members just a little insensitive?" I scoffed as I flicked through the pages, "There's a whole page dedicated to this? There's no tick box for gun training, but you've got half a page dedicated to hobbies and preferences?! Dietary preferences, religion/beliefs?!"

I raised my head up in sheer disbelief, it was really unbelievable. Jessie had sunk her hands into her pockets and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, it's part of her process. Deanna's staff work out of the community centre on Main Street, if you can get your group to fill them out and hand them in, that'd be great. I have a shift at the salon so I'll see you around, Georgia."

"The salon?!" I uttered under my breath as she left, baffled at everything before me.

"She said one per family?" Maggie uttered as she broke away from the clothing pile; conversation successfully eavesdropped.

"So we all cram our 2 cents onto the one." I scoffed and handed her a copy. It only took a few moments for her eyebrow to steadily raise and her bemusement to match mine.

* * *

We spread out the furniture in the living room that night and covered the floor in pillows and duvets, it looked like a children's slumber party. Maggie was inhaling the freshly cleaned sheets; Carl was reading comic books by the fire; Noah was checking out the cd collection; Rick was settling Judith down in a new crib; Daryl was sat watching out the window; I sat with Hannah amongst a big pile of pillows, braiding her hair. This was unreal, it was peaceful, it was nice.

Michonne sauntered into the room with a giant smile on her face, "How long was I in there?"

"20 minutes." Rick drawled.

"God, I could not stop brushing." Michonne smiled and tilted her head. "I've never seen your face like that." Rick had shaved off the grisly beard he'd procured on the road, he looked like a completely different man clean-shaven. They entered a close conversation and Michonne's smile dropped, engaging in a more serious hushed tone. I knew instantly what they were discussing; Rick's insistence that we not get blinded by the luxuries.

A light tap on the door shattered our temporary bliss and we were all once more on high alert, either rising from our seats or readjusting our position. Rick opened the door to Deanna.

"Rick, I-wow, I didn't know what was under there." She joked.

Rick made a non-committal noise.

"Look, I don't mean to interrupt, I just wanted to stop by and see how you're all settling in, oh my, staying together, smart." She surveyed the room with intrigue.

"No one said we couldn't." Rick rasped.

"You're a family. That's what you said. It's absolutely amazing to me how people from completely different backgrounds and nothing in common can become like that."

"You've given us jobs." Rick stated more than asked.

"Oh yes, part of this place. Looks like the communists won after all." She chuckled, "I'm still waiting on some papers."

"Well, you ain't given me one."

"Oh, I have. I just haven't told you yet, same with Michonne. I'm closing in on something for Sasha and I'm just trying to figure Mr Dixon out. But I will. You look good." She smiled at Rick before wishing us a good night and leaving the home.


	60. Season 5: 12: Remember (2)

"They said explore, let's explore." Rick stopped in front of me, talking to Daryl. I stepped back on my heels and brushed my hair up in my fingers, securing it into a messy bun. I brushed a piece of lint off my new white sundress, and felt the knife strapped securely to my leg underneath. I turned to see Daryl was still seated on the floor.

"Nah, I'll stay." Daryl brought his knees to his chest and remained sitting on the porch.

"Alright" Rick stopped at the top of the porch steps and looked out over the houses. "Lori and me, we used to drive through neighbourhoods like this. Thinking one day."

"Well here we are." Daryl drawled, still not moving. The comment unintentionally knocked me for six, and I figured as much for Rick too. These beautiful houses, this picturesque neighbourhood; it looked like movie set. This was the dream. This was the old dream, everyone wanted this. Lori wanted this, she'd whined to me over and over about how small their house was, Rick was content but they were on top of each other, it wasn't enough. And here we were…

"We'll be back." Rick strode down the steps and caught up with the group.

"You're seriously not coming?" I rolled the sleeves of my cardigan up. He didn't give me an inch. Just as I was turning to leave him to it, he drawled, "You look real pretty, Doc."

I faltered and turned back to watch him drift back inside the house and sighed. Whatever his problem was right now, I didn't have the time to deal with it; I had a lot of catching up to do with my niece.

* * *

"Hey, Georgia! Over here!" Spencer was standing with Hannah beside a cart. A portly woman with an expansive grin on her face steam-rolled right in front of me. I stumbled back a little.

"Doctor Georgia, it is such a pleasure to finally meet you!" she grinned and thrust a pie into my hands, "I baked this fresh this morning just for you, I'ma call it my Georgia Peach Pie, just after you!" She chuckled a sugary laugh and continued talking at a million miles an hour. "My name is Olivia, I'm the store keeper around here; Hannah told me I have the same name as her mom. I wish I could have met your sister, she sounds like a truly lovely lady-"

"Apologies for interrupting, ladies, I need to iron out some details with you, Georgia." Spencer placed his hand on the small of my back and led me away from the crazy lady.

"You'll have to stop by some time soon, Doctor Georgia! I'll teach you the recipe!" she beamed, "I'll be sure to see you later!"

Spencer took the pie out of my hands as I looked up at him in bemusement, desperately trying to digest what had just happened, "What the hell was that?"

"She…can be a little intense sometimes. She also doesn't really have a filter, speaking of which." He chuckled and placed the pie down upon a cart before passing me a cup of…coffee!

"What the hell is this?" my eyes widened at the paper cup warming up my hands.

"It ain't exactly Starbucks but ya know, little luxuries." He took a sip from his own cup and grinned, "but apparently freshly brewed coffee and friendly neighbours are your idea of fresh hell?"

I couldn't believe what I held in my hands, I looked around and made a conscious effort to close my mouth, "It's just…it's all…" I struggled to process my surroundings in the light of the new day. It was still here. It was still picture perfect.

"It's all?" Spencer's hand brushed against mine as he steadied the cup in my hand, "about to hit the ground?"

I blushed and shook my head, "I'm sorry."

"It's all a little much." He secured a plastic lid on my cup as he caught my gaze genuinely, "It's a small town, they're just excited, it'll die down soon enough, don't worry."

"Georgie, Olivia offered to give me a tour of the pantry, we've a little time before Baking Club, come with me?" Hannah took my elbow and lead me away.

"Olivia will be so thrilled to have you." Spencer scoffed into his coffee, "See you around, Georgia."

I rolled my eyes as I bid him good morning.

"I, along with every other lady in town, am so happy you're here. A female doctor; it just makes you feel better, you know, you can open up, woman to woman." Olivia linked her arm in mine and walked us down the street with Hannah carrying the infamous Georgia Peach Pie and smirking behind her back, "I mean, Dr Anderson is a fine surgeon, but no woman wants to bare her ahem, dignity to a married man. You're already a mini-celebrity here, prepare to have your ears talked off at town events!"

I made a noncommittal noise in my throat.

"Georgie is the best doctor ever but well, I guess I'm a little biased." Hannah chuckled and Olivia cracked up.

"You are just the cutest, little lady! You know, we have something of a Junior League here, it's only the 5 girls but I'm sure they'd be thrilled to have you along!" Olivia beamed.

"Yes! Madison's mom told me all about it, if that's okay with you Georgie? I'd love to go!" Hannah beamed up at me. Her little voice echoed with hints of Carol, she'd evidently given her acting tips.

"Of course." I smiled back and uttered monotonously, "That would be wonderful."

"Excellent! And maybe you could do a little talk one day, Dr Georgia?" Olivia squeezed my arm in delight, "I mean, aside from Deanna, there's a lack of strong career women in this community. Well, Molly was an accountant, I suppose. And Francine had her own Personal Training business. Don't get me wrong, taking care of others and the home is important, but there's only so many times our guest speakers can say the same things. The girls need more these days." I stared back at Olivia in disbelief. The fragile bubble of normalcy that these people were living in was truly baffling; Junior League, soccer moms, baking club?! Olivia released my arm once we'd reached the storerooms, "Welcome to my domain!"

She unlocked the front door and stepped aside inviting me to lead the way. Their storeroom spanned an entire townhouse. Olivia gave us a tour of the entire building, supplies were stacked up to the ceiling, meticulously ordered and neatly labelled.

"Okay, don't worry if you forget anything, there's the central map posted on the staircase, and each door has a colour coded location chart." Olivia pointed to the floor plan posted on the final door, it was again, meticulous. Items were listed against the floor plans, cross-referenced with their location, along with warnings against rare items. She led us into the last room, a small bedroom at the back of the house, "Last stop on the tour, the toiletries and household goods room. It's affectionately dubbed ladies corner!" Olivia chucked at her own remark and took us through the stacks, "Again, it's organised by category in here, as on the door map. Over at the end there, is all your feminine essentials for that time of the month and…" Olivia checked that Hannah was out of earshot, and whispered in my ear, "…there's also some particular items, for protection, and you know, if you have a man in your life?" She made a cartoonish eye gesture towards the boxes of condoms on the top shelf and as my eyes fell upon the boxed item next to them…my heart just about stopped. No. No. No. Tampons. Condoms. Pregnancy Tests…

"Do you? Have a man in your life? Is it that Rick? Ugh, he's such a good-looking man underneath that grisly face fur!" Olivia grinned and squeezed my arm, "I'm so sorry, look at me! I'm such a Nosy Nancy! Coincidentally, Nancy Myers, and her sister Kathy, they are the nosiest noses on Main Street. They stick it everywhere, and end up knowing absolutely everything, even what you ate for breakfast. Gossip Vultures."

"I uh, no. I grew up with Rick's grandparents, he's basically my brother." I uttered with a suddenly dry throat.

"Oh! That's so lovely. Well, if you're a free agent, watch out for that Aiden Monroe, he chews up and spits out all the girls his age. And yeah, it's a small town, kinda awkward at parties. Spencer though, he's a nice boy!" Olivia chuckled as I desperately forced a smile on to my face, "Gosh, I'm getting side-tracked, ha-ha, shock horror! Yes, so nothing in here is in short demand so you don't need to sign out tampons or such, luckily, so embarrassing! Aiden jokes he has to ransack every bathroom they come across just to keep the condoms in stock."

"Right." I uttered out and laughed nervously. Oh god, this is hell.

"Miss Olivia, could I make a withdrawal from the art supplies room?" Hannah called from the other room.

Olivia's eyes lit up and she wandered out of the room, "Yes! Let me show you how to make your first withdrawal!"

I waited for Olivia to completely vacate the room and snatched a test off the shelf, stuffing it abruptly into my pocket and leaving the room immediately.

"Georgia? Where are you off to so quick? Baking Club starts soon!" Olivia burst out the door and beamed at me.

"I forgot I had to um, go see Pete! See the practice and such. I'll come back." I smiled the fakest grin I could muster and stormed back to our house. I sprinted up the steps and burst into the bathroom. I snatched the box out of my pocket and looked at the back of the box, but my hands were too shaky. The box slipped out of my hands and dropped to the floor. I slid down the door and joined it, just staring at it. The longer I sit here, not knowing, the longer it's not true. Like the damn cat in the box; it's both true and not true. I buried my face in my hands and began to cry. We were out there, starving, on the edge of death, I hadn't even noticed…the nausea, the missed period…I thought my body was just…struggling under the strain of it all. I thought back to that damn bus. That amazing, carefree night, the sex…oh my god.

"Georgia?" Daryl rattled against the door, causing me to spring away from it in shock and stumble up to my feet, "You alright?"

I struggled to compose myself and wiped the tears away, uttering in the most cheerful voice I could muster, "YUP. Really needed a pee. I didn't want to ask anyone to use theirs, we're not on that level of acquaintance yet, you know, decorum and etiquette." I snatched up the box and glanced at the expiration date…okay…I have approximately 4 years to find my answer…grand. When I do this…it's maybe, probably, going to be correct.

"Uh, alright." He rasped and once I'd heard his footsteps rattle back down the stairs, I exhaled. I paused for a moment, my heart still pounding in my chest, and ripped the box open. Two tests scattered across the countertop. I looked around and noted the trash can…no, anyone will see it. My eyes fell upon an ugly mermaid vase in the corner and stuffed the second test in there.

I ripped open the packet and followed the instructions, carrying the peed on stick back over to the countertop as if it were a priceless heirloom. I washed my hands, bit my nails, paced the spacious palatial bathroom, rested against the edge of the tub and glanced over at the test, mere seconds into the countdown. It was already there. My answer had already materialised…

I reached for it, and brought it closer as my legs began to tremble. Oh god…no. No. No. No. NO. My brain froze, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know…what?! WHAT?!

I didn't know how to feel or function. God, Daryl was downstairs, he was here. The father of my…we had…there was…I stuffed the test into my pocket once more and burst out of the front door, speed-walking my way down the street, I wasn't really sure what I was doing or where I would go, I just went. Eventually, I passed a giant trash can and tossed the test inside, after one more glance at the prominent plus sign.

* * *

Later on, after I'd walked the entire internal perimeter of the community, I watched Daryl outside on the front porch, tinkering with his crossbow. I trembled as my jelly legs did their best to carry me up the front steps. My heart sat in my throat as I rehearsed the words sloshing around my mind, desperately attempting to form kind of logical sentences. Oh god, Georgia, don't spew out everything, just…get to the important bit.

"Hey." Daryl drawled, not looking up from his work.

"Daryl." I uttered, quietly. I paused for a moment and played with my sleeves. When these words fall from my lips, it makes it true, "There's-"

"Time to punch the clock and make the casseroles." Carol sprung from the front door, dressed like…well, a grandma. She was closely followed by Hannah, dressed in a similar attire.

"What?" Daryl and I both uttered in unison, taking in their new image.

"Make dinner for the older people, moms who need a break, people who can't cook. Get to meet a lot of the neighbours when you're in charge of social care." Carol grinned.

"Friendly housewife, cute little girl, no one bats an eyelid. Georgie, Olivia's super bummed you missed Baking Club, she made me promise I'd drag you to the next one!" Hannah beamed next to Carol. I glanced back and forth, taking in the dynamic duo.

"Have you taken a shower yet?" Carol probed Daryl, "We need to keep up appearances, even you!"

"Hey, I ain't starting now." Daryl rasped.

"I'll hose you down in your sleep." Carol threatened and took Hannah by the hand before skipping down the street to their covert mission.

"You look ridiculous." Daryl scoffed after her.

"Daryl, I really need to-" I pinched the bridge of my nose and exhaled sharply.

"Excuse me, are you Georgia?"

I turned to face a man behind me. Judging by his white coat, this was Pete the surgeon.

"If you're not busy, I could give you a tour of our medical facilities?" Pete smiled. YES, I AM BUSY PETE! I wanted to scream in his face. I'm dropping bombshells over here, uno momento please! I bit my lip and nodded sure. I desperately attempted to quell the storm of thoughts ploughing through my mind. This place. It needed to work. I couldn't go through what Lori went through. I'd never even thought about having children back then, they weren't on my game plan. My brother's children were thrust upon me. Did I even…want to go through with this?

* * *

After Pete had given me an extensive tour of the practice, he offered to walk me home, much to my dismay and blatant rejection of the idea. He followed on irrespective under the notion we still had to discuss a rota and shared responsibilities. My mind was still fixated on the Misoprostol that sat in his locked drug's cabinet. My estimation put me at 6 weeks along, that drug was intended for pregnancies less than 8 weeks…

"I don't think the decision to stay here is really final yet, so let's put a pin in that. If it's an emergency, just holler." I brushed off his suggestions.

"You should meet my wife." He smirked, "I reckon you'll like her, got the same fire."

"I've met her." I uttered, half-heartedly, as an altercation by the main gate gripped our attention.

"We should stay out it." Pete uttered but I carried on regardless. He grabbed my arm to hold me back and I shook loose of it, raising a bemused eyebrow that the man I'd known for approximately 2 minutes had touched me. What the fresh hell, pal? Was written all over my face.

"Look I'm not messing around; you obey my orders out there!" Aiden Monroe barked in Glenn's face. You know those mini-snorts in your throat that kind of arise out-with your control when something unintentionally humorous happens? Aiden's comment made me release one of those.

"Then we're just as screwed as your last crew." Glenn seethed. The look on Glenn's face made the snorted grin disappear from mine. Daryl edged in closer as Aiden closed the gap between them.

"Say that again." Aiden got right up into Glenn's face.

"HEY! Back off." I demanded, storming up to them.

Aiden pushed Glenn back, Glenn's lips pursed but he did not retaliate, yet.

"Hey man, take a step back." Noah reinforced my statement, in an unimpressed tone. Aiden pushed Glenn once more. Daryl was flickering around them, just waiting for the signal.

"Come on, tough guy." Aiden provoked him, with a cocky grin plastered across his face.

"No one's impressed, man." Glenn uttered, coolly. "Walk away."

"Aiden!" his mother called out to him. "What is going on?"

"This guy's got a problem with the way we do things." His smug grin unsettled me deeply.

"Did you seriously just tell on him to your mom?" I furrowed my brow in bemusement.

"Why did you let these people in?" Aiden ignored my jest.

"Because we actually know what we're doing out there." Glenn uttered matter-of-factly. Aiden turned, taking a hefty swing at Glenn, which Glenn avoided by ducking and swiftly returned the favour. He fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"AIDEN!" Deanna hollered. "That's enough! I said that's enough!"

Daryl straight up body-checked the weasel one and slammed him into the ground when he attempted to hit Glenn from behind. What a goddamn coward! Rick had to wrestle Daryl off of him as Deanna continued to bark out her orders to cease.

Aiden scuffled to his feet and looked likely to square up once more but Michonne stepped in front of him, coolly asking him, "You wanna end up on your ass again?"

"I want everyone to hear me okay?" Deanna barked, "Rick and his people are a part of this community now, in all always, as equals. Understood?"

"Understood." Aiden scoffed.

"All of you, turn in your weapons and then you two come talk to me." Deanna's eyes bore holes into her cocky son and his punk ass friend; she looked so embarrassed. She designated Rick and Michonne as constables of the community and thanked Glenn for knocking her son on his ass. Daryl stormed off as Rick and Michonne accepted their new positions; I watched him trudge away in bitter defiance. Maybe today wasn't the best choice of days…or maybe adding a dump of frosting onto the shit cake was a better tactic? Oh by the way, we're having a bambino, yeah, chew on that, I'll be over here, freaking out. I figured I could give that talk to Olivia's pageant girls now, safe sex friends, no matter how much you wanna bang, and get lost up in the moment and-

"That was awful brave of you." Aiden snorted to me as the crowd dispersed, "Getting in the way like that." He struck me instantly as tremendously insecure but putting on a brave face. You don't need to explain it, Aiden, I figured what you meant.

"That was pretty pathetic of you, playing toy soldier like that. You could've gotten killed, worse, one of my friends killed." I uttered back in disgust at the man.

"Not that I had a problem with you getting in my way." Aiden stepped towards me and I physically cringed at the comment.

"You've done enough damage for one day, brother." Spencer brushed in front of his brother and pushed him back.

"Smart play, bro." Aiden scoffed, "Save your damsel in distress from the horror of being hit on."

"You people are delusional." I raised a genuinely concerned eyebrow.

"Something tells me she doesn't need you saving her." Aiden scoffed and stormed off. Thank you?

"I'm sorry about him." Spencer sighed, "He likes to think he's top dog around here, he's threatened."

"That's the kind of attitude that gets people killed." I uttered, "He needs a serious reality check, this isn't a game, Spencer."

"No one said it was." Spencer raised an eyebrow, "It's an adjustment for everyone."

"We're not." I shook my head in defiance, "If we adjust to this, we get weak."

"Then teach us." Spencer brushed my arm to draw my eyes to his, "That's why you're here. We need to adjust. We need to be strong."

* * *

I stood alone on the front porch that night, breathing in the cool night air and spending a brief moment alone with my thoughts. Rick and Michonne were established as constables, they were given legitimate authority in this community as keepers of the peace. I had no valid reason in my heart to distrust the people here, they were just different to us. They weren't bad people, just ignorant to the truth, and lucky, in some ways. Did I want to do this? Me? A mother? Was this…even feasible? Not on the road, but…here. Walls, food, indoor plumbing, baking club, other kids. Daryl stepped out to join me and lit up a cigarette. I shook the thoughts from my head and turned to face him.

"What're you doin'?" Daryl drawled. _What am I doing, Daryl?_ Was what I wanted to say just then.

"I needed to get some fresh air, okay?" I uttered, "I couldn't even think about sleep. It's entirely plausible. This whole thing is rather stressful and warrants a sleepless night or two, so that's what's going on...with me. Wait, what was the question?"

Rick emerged onto the front porch before Daryl had a change to digest my waffle, followed by Carol. My moment of peace was well and truly trampled on. Rick was wearing his new constable uniform; I hadn't seen him like that for a long time. It was trippy.

"We good?" Rick drawled.

"Yeah." I nodded, half-heartedly.

"You a cop again?" Daryl rasped.

"I'm trying it on for size." Rick grinned.

"So we're staying?" Carol asked.

"I think we can start sleeping in our own homes. Settle in." Rick decided.

"If we get comfortable here, we let our guard down, this place is gonna make us weak." Carol objected. Her words echoed mine to Spencer earlier. It was clearly on everyone's minds. These people were weak. Were they really lucky? In the context of this world?

"Carl said that." Rick drawled, "But it's not gonna happen. We won't get weak. That's not in us anymore. We'll make it work. And if they can't make it then we'll just take this place."

I didn't feel like I had anything to fear from these people. They clearly needed us. But I had everything to fear from their inadequacies. As shown in today's altercation, they could have gotten my friends, my family killed, because they don't understand the magnitude of what the new world entails. Spencer had said they were willing to learn. Maybe. But…why would you willingly burst the perfect bubble you'd enjoyed for months on end? Why would you subject yourself to the truth, the world had ended, but yours had carried on just fine? I foresaw an uphill battle here.


	61. Season 5: 13: Forget

The house was littered with perfect happy family photographs, their discontinuity made it clear these were the stock photos that came with the frames. There was no story here, no story of the family that once occupied this house. This house was waiting, but never became someone's home. The show-home appearance of these houses just added to the feeling of being unsettled, to the feeling that this was all fake and could crumble away at any moment. I heard Sasha stir and bolt upright; she tiptoed around the living room, snatching up a few of the frames, before slipping out of the back door. Sunlight was beginning to stream in through the wooden shutters. Goddamn birds were chirping outside. It was a new day.

I couldn't sleep. My mind was racing over and over, dreaming up different scenarios of how I'd tell Daryl. It had to be today. It had to be someone, today. It should be him first. I crept out of my blanket and sauntered into the kitchen. The papers were still stacked up on the countertop where Jessie had left them. Some of them had been filled out, whilst the others stood untouched. I flicked through a few of them; it was a clear indicator of who was committed to this place and who was still feeling it out. Notable empty forms: Daryl. Rick. Sasha. Abraham. Rosita. Me. I plucked out the form with Georgia scribbled on top and picked up a pencil. Here we go.

Title: Dr. Full Name: Georgie Rose…Walsh. Date of Birth: 3rd December 1984. Age: …wow, I don't um…I know I was turning 26 when this all started, 27…28 this winter? I looked up from the form after only answering four questions. I didn't know my age, not for certain. I glanced around the room and wandered over to a calendar of kittens hanging on the wall. March 2011? Is that the month? 2 winters have passed us, between Hershel's farm and at the prison, I've had two birthdays then. I'm 27, 28 this year. My baby was going to be born in November then, I deduced.

I'd taken the second test that morning, when HCG is most prominent. It screamed a response within seconds; there was a baby, a November baby. I sighed and allowed my shoulders to slump in as I sat on the toilet lid. Carol had chapped on the door and asked me to meet them at the gate in 10 minutes, I panicked and stuck my pee stick back in the vase.

* * *

Carol, Daryl, Rick and I stood assembled around the blender that Rick had stashed a gun in. Only now, it had miraculously disappeared, and ignited his ingenious plan to steal back our weapons.

"I don't see it, but it's close." Daryl scouted out the immediate area after snapping twigs had sent us into high alert, "There's just one of them."

"We won't be here long." Rick asked for our input in his plan, "So what d'ya think?"

"We can go in when it's empty." Carol asserted.

"Well how's that? It's locked up at night." Rick reminded her.

"The window. There's just a latch, I can leave it open." Carol scoffed.

"A latch?" Rick raised an eyebrow at the notion that a mere latch was all it took to raid an armoury.

"Yup." Carol nodded.

"What if one of those pricks shuts it?" Daryl rasped.

"Wait a couple of days, leave it open again." Carol shrugged.

"It's getting closer." Daryl grew more antsy, pacing around trying to pinpoint the walker whose snarls were now growing audible to us all.

"We need to do it sooner than later." Rick drawled, "Right now they're not watching us, not worrying about meetings like this. We may need the guns-"

"We may not." I bit my lip and uttered, concerned about the way the wind was blowing, "I'm really not scared of these people."

"We will. Whatever way it goes." Carol asserted.

"They're the luckiest damn people I ever met." Rick scoffed, "And they just keep getting luckier."

"How's that?" I uttered.

"We're here now." Rick shrugged.

"They've got a couple of footlockers just full of 9mm autos, Rugers, Kel-Tacs. Just tossed in there. They don't use them, never gonna know they're gone." Carol informed us.

"Someone's got one now, right?" Daryl drawled.

"Georgia, Carol's getting in with the moms, you're in a better position to infiltrate a wider range, you can get them to trust you. They're watching Daryl, and they're wary of me. Now listen, the others. We want them to try." Rick rasped.

"You too." Carol nodded to Daryl.

"So we keep this quiet. Just us." Rick nodded up towards the walker, "Here it comes."

"I got him." Daryl headed towards the snarling beast.

"No. Wait." I raised my eyes and called up to him. I raised my gun up to the stumbling walker and fired five shots into his chest and a final shot into its head. They turned to face me, confused at my wastage of bullets, "Said we were out shooting, can't come back with a full mag."

"Lucky he came by." Daryl drawled.

"We should get back." Rick rasped and turned to Carol, "You'll pull the latch, we'll wait for our moment. Us, we don't need to be lucky."

"What the hell's that? That a W?" Daryl pointed at the walker's forehead.

We all looked at each other in concern before heading back inside the walls.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked Daryl as he veered off away from the gate.

"Naw, little longer." He drawled and ventured further into the woods.

"I thought we were trying?" I called after him to no response.

* * *

I chapped on Deanna's door and stood back, pacing the porch as I awaited a response. I'd love to settle in to the practice, I'd love to get to know everyone, I'd love nothing more than to work alongside weird Pete. The door opened and Spencer's voice appeared, "Georgia?"

I spun to face him and playing with my fingers enquired after his mother.

"She and my dad are stocking up on supplies for tonight." Spencer smiled and slid his hands into his jean pockets, whilst leaning against the door frame, coolly, "Is something on your mind? Something I can help you with?"

"Uh, no, no." I shuffled from foot to foot.

"You always look a million miles away. Are you sure you're okay?" Spencer raised an eyebrow of concern and stepped out towards me, "We can talk inside, if you want."

I scoffed and smiled, "Yeah. No, I'm fine."

"Did you get a chance to finish off the online dating profile for my mom?" Spencer chuckled.

"The what now?" I raised an eyebrow.

"The get-to-know-you form?" Spencer laughed, "Georgia. Doctor. Loves long walks along the beach."

I sighed and relented, "No. Some of us have. But uh, I got stuck on question four."

"What's that now?"

"Age." I laughed, half-heartedly, "I don't know how long we were out there for. We didn't track what day it was, just the fact that we'd survived another one."

"It's March 23rd 2011." Spencer uttered, with pained eyes of pity that didn't sit well with me.

"There's a calendar in our kitchen." I smiled a little, "I figured."

"How old are you, then?"

"I'm 27." I informed him.

"I'm 29. That's pretty young for a surgeon."

"Long story." I shook my head.

"I got time." He grinned and pointed behind him, "I'm actually planning on setting up a defence class, writing up what I'll need, do you wanna help me out? I could use a hand."

My eyes lit up, "You know what, I have a better idea! Let's just shake off the cobwebs."

"What?" Spencer chuckled.

"You want to learn. You said you wanted to be trained." I brushed past him into his living room and opened my arms, "Let's not talk about it, and write about it. Show me what you got!"

"Sorry, you've misread me, I'm no woman-beater." He scoffed, "I meant, like survival skills, getting out of tricky spots."

"That's literally what this is. I wanna see what I'm working with. Slow-mo?" I took up my stance.

"I'm not going to hit a girl, especially-" He folded his arms firmly across his chest as his words faltered towards the end.

"Alright." I lowered my arms and began to elegantly pace around him, "I'll attack you, and you can oh-so-gently defend yourself?"

"Give it your best shot, little one." He unfolded his arms.

"On the count of three, one, two-" I dove under his pretend swing and careered behind him before slapping him lightly in the lower back, "Stabbed."

He scoffed, "Ah! Okay. Well, if we're playing dirty-"

I sang as I dove out of his turn to be behind him once more, "Stabbed, again." I could tell from his body language that he quietly relished my delicate touches and sultry voice in his ear. I giggled and proceeded to slip and slide out of his reach, much to his growing frustration. I was always within his grasp, and started to flirt with the idea he was letting me win.

"Alright, alright!" He threw his hands up in the air in defeat, "Very impressive, let's even the playing field then, spare me any more embarrassment." He pulled a bandana out of his back pocket.

"Are you letting me win?" I planted my hands on my hips.

He sighed as I allowed him to cover my eyes with the makeshift blindfold. "No I'm just this incompetent. You won't always have the advantage. Can you see?"

I inhaled sharply at his voice right beside my ear, his breath tingled along my exposed neck, "Um, not a thing. Feeling pretty vulnerable though, promise anything undead heads our way, you'll give me a heads up?"

"I don't think you'd need one-" He went for his first pretend stab but found his arm blocked in good time. "I'm honestly impressed." He uttered in amazement as I matched most of his advances.

"Little tip for you, it's easy to track your voice when you're yapping!" I returned to my stance, waiting patiently for a glimmer of a hint of his position. He'd evidently heeded my words as well as I was having trouble for the first time. I turned rapidly at the sound of a floorboard creaking. It was upstairs, too far away to be him.

"Hey! If you've ran off, then you forfeit!" I called out to him. My heart was beginning to quicken rapidly, hanging on the edge, waiting for one noise to break the tension and order the attack, "Running away is downright shameful and-"

"Hey." His voice spoke softly from directly behind me. I slammed around but my wrist was grabbed well before it made contact, the other one followed suit. I was held in a vice like grip, okay, he was stronger than he looked I thought to myself.

"Okay, well played! Get me to freak myself out and then-" I was cut off by his lips. At first I was completely taken aback but found myself falling into him, even kissing him back. He led my hands around his neck and let go as his followed suit, exploring down my body, finding the small of my back and pulling me in closer. His touch rippled throughout my entire body. WAIT WHAT? I pushed against his chest and stepped back, pulling the blindfold off and raising a hand to my lips. It was gentle…I guess, it was nice, but… It wasn't what I wanted, or who I wanted. I cursed the man whose face and hands and lips and goddamn everything else of his flooded my thoughts.

He respected my break away and spread open his arms, "I'm sorry, I…I couldn't help myself."

Right on cue, Deanna stumbled through the front door and Spencer stepped back awkwardly.

"Georgia, I wasn't aware you were here." Deanna smiled with her eyes.

"You just caught me on the way out." I struggled to smile back.

Deanna didn't step aside and announced, "I'm hosting a welcome party for you all, here, at our home, tonight."

"That's a lovely idea. See you then." I brushed past the woman and made my way out of the house, double-time. Oh good lord, what the hell was that?! GEORGIA?! Hormones. Hormones. Hormones.

* * *

"Oh, my! Welcome!" Deanna's face lit up as we stepped inside and she made a beeline for Rick who was toting his baby girl, "Oh it's so good to see you! Hi Carl! Thank you for coming. You know I didn't get a chance to interview this one! I envy her."

"Why?" Rick drawled.

"She'll get to see what this place will become." Deanna beamed, "Come! Come on in!"

What an odd notion the future was. I hadn't seen further past tomorrow for quite some time, but I guess in light of my situation, it was time to try. Abraham strolled in behind me and took one glance around the room before asserting, "I don't know about this."

"They have beer." I sighed, half-heartedly pointing to the buffet table. A sizeable metal bucket of ice was overflowing with chilled bottles of beer.

"I'ma try." Abraham's brow un-furrowed as he barged past me.

"Rick, I'd like you to meet my husband, Reg." Deanna waved him over. Rick hesitated.

"I'll take Judy." I pulled the baby out of his arms and he wandered over reluctantly to the couple. It wasn't long before Reg was pouring Rick a glass of whiskey and they were enjoying an amicable discussion. Carl headed off to hang out with the kids. Hannah veered off to hang out with her new friends. I cuddled Judith in close to my chest and she played with my messy side braid, contently. I watched over Rick, following his eyes up to Jessie as she entered the house with her family, they lingered on her for a long moment, before returning to his conversation with Reg.

"She's so good." An elderly woman grinned as she approached me and stroked the baby's cheeks, "Haven't heard her cry once."

"Yeah. She's pretty happy." I smiled, half-heartedly.

"You have such beautiful children, honey. I didn't see your husband come in, is he coming?" The woman smiled warmly.

My eyes widened, "Oh. No."

The woman's smile faded a little and her eyebrow perked up.

"No. She's uh, not mine. She's my niece. Rick is her father." I pointed over to Rick who was laughing along with Reg. The woman's smile reappeared brighter at the sight of the two men getting along.

"Olivia tells me you're a doctor. I was hoping it'd be a dentist turning up at the gates next. Would you know anything about that? I've had this niggling twinge, right here-" She began to make small talk but Noah had caught my eye. He was standing alone in the corner beside the drinks table.

"Excuse me, I think she needs changed." I smiled sweetly and abruptly left the woman behind.

"Hey." Noah nodded up at me and returned to surveying the room, uncertainly.

"This sucks." I smiled, genuinely this time. The look across his face had said it all. He scoffed at my comment and nodded in agreement. I scoured the drinks table, filled a glass with just lemonade and decided to declare it totally contained a dash of vodka too.

"Hey." Maggie arrived moments later with Glenn in tow.

"Hi." Noah uttered.

"Hey, you okay?" Glenn asked as he closed the circle.

"Yeah. Yeah. Just isn't really my thing," Noah shook his head and scoffed, "I think I'm gonna head out."

"What?" I whispered, glancing at the other two.

"No, you're not bailing! We're in this together, man." Glenn laughed.

"You're with us now. You're here with family." Maggie asserted.

"Come on." Glenn nudged Noah playfully on the arm.

"Maggie, will you, um, take Judith a second?" I handed over the baby and made my way towards Carol who was sending me less than subtle eye gestures from across the room. Carol embraced me in a flamboyant manner and whispered in my ear, "Your best friend finally arrives."

I broke away and followed her eye line to see Olivia bounce into the house and mingle amongst her lady friends.

"Look, she's here, which means it's empty." Carol announced to Rick as he approached the two of us.

"I'll go with you." Rick drawled.

"No, remember..." Carol sang as she slid out the door.

"You're invisible." Rick scoffed and turned to me, "How's the baby?"

I froze in place and spun to face him, my heart began to pound in my chest.

"Judith?" Rick raised an eyebrow, in confusion.

"Oh! Yeah. You're asking-oh, she is with Maggie. She's fine. She's with Maggie and Glenn, and Noah is there too." I stumbled over the words as Jessie approached the two of us, with her family in tow.

"Hey Rick! This is my husband, Pete." Jessie called over.

"Hey, good to meet you. I wanted to thank you for taking on being our constable." Pete grinned and stuck out his hand for Rick, "If we keep growing at this rate, we're gonna need even more." His tone was off-putting. His words on paper would have sounded genuinely pleased, but the way he spoke, it was so passive-aggressive.

"I hope so." Rick drawled.

"Excuse me, it's a little hot in here." I brushed past him and stepped outside onto the decking for some fresh air. The back patio area was littered with fairy lights. A giant fire pit sat in the centre of the yard. Upscale lawn furniture was immaculately decorated with pillows and throws. It looked like I'd walked straight onto a movie set. I leant against the railing and exhaled.

"Hey? Hey, are you alright?" Spencer's voice followed me out onto the deck and slid the door closed behind him.

My eyes were lining with tears but I somehow managed to stifle them back, staring upwards at the stars, "You live in a freakin' Pottery Barn catalogue, Spencer."

He chuckled, "excuse me?"

"This is what we wanted, right? All those nights spent sleeping out rough under the stars, in prison cells, in truck beds, on the forest floor? In the RV…we spent those nights dreaming of this! Something we can build on, the ending of…the beginning of something real." my voice wavered as he stepped closer towards me.

"It's yours, Georgia." He stopped in front of me and ducked his head to catch my gaze.

"My brain can't compute this. My heart can't handle this. But I do want this." I uttered, "I know that now, whatever happens, I want this."

He stood up straight, and caressed my arms as my hormones decided to point out how super tall he was, he must be what…6'2? Okay, at my measly 5'5, that's super tall to me.

"This must feel like…exhaling. And that's okay. You're allowed to do that. We're all here to support you, carry a burden or two." He smiled kindly at me. Our gaze held for a second longer, his hand caressed my cheek before gently guiding my lips to his. NOPE. NOPE. I managed to dodge his advance this time and stepped backwards, "Spencer."

"Are you alright?" He smiled warmly. No, you walnut, stop kissing me! I wanted to scream in his face. Urgh, when I said I want this, I meant stable safe place to raise my child, not YOU.

"I don't want to…give you the wrong impression." I uttered delicately, "You've been really kind to me, and you're a great catch, totally what I'd go for if I were stuck in a pre-apocalypse bubble but-"

My babbling train of thought was quickly derailed by Abraham suddenly parking himself in front of me and squaring up to Spencer.

"She's spoken for, friend." Abraham drawled plainly.

"Abraham! What the hell?" I whined and squared up to the gentle giant man before me and then on to Spencer's bemusement, scoffing, "Oh, not by him."

"Yes, she's a thing for gingers, you're outta luck, pretty boy. The tiny doc and I fell madly in love along the wild roads of the great state of her namesake." Abraham swayed a little and pointed his beer directly at Spencer, "You put the moves on my lady friend, I will fight you. Apologise to the fair maiden."

Spencer chuckled in bemusement, "Okay. Okay, man. I misunderstood. I'm sorry, Georgia."

He nodded to us both and disappeared back inside the house with a really confused look on his face.

"Abraham." I seethed, "What the hell was that?"

He turned to face me. "What're you doing, Doc? You gonna run off into the sunset with the Abercrombie prince? Is that your play here? You doing the Carol thing, cause I don't get it!"

"It was a mistake. He caught me off guard, I didn't ask him to kiss me. I dodged!" I took the beer out of his hands and took a swig, froze instantly, and spat it out on the ground.

"Hey, this stuff ain't that bad. I thought you and Daryl worked out your shit." Abraham drawled, snatching the beer back.

I covered my face with my hands and mumbled through them, "The beer's fine. I'm pregnant."

Abraham dropped the can, "Shit the bed."

* * *

Daryl was perched on the railing of the front porch. I could barely make it out, but it seemed like he was wearing the plaid shirt and dark pants. He was picking at a blade of grass.

"Why ain't you at the party?" he drawled.

"Why the hell ain't you?" I sniffed and slammed straight through the front door, intent on the stairs. He looked up to face me instantly upon hearing the faint whimper. I heard him jump down from the railing, exhale loudly and storm after me.

"Georgia." He drawled. Just as I reached the first step, he grabbed me to face him.

"I'm tired. Okay. Just let me go-" I uttered feebly as he encroached on my personal space. I breathed him in subtly, desperately restraining the urges my hormonal thoughts were screaming in my ears. His dishevelled hair couldn't mask his piercing blue eyes.

"Georg-" He uttered as he brushed the hair out of my face. My heart fluttered in that telling manner as he touched my skin. It was completely different to Spencer's touch; my entire body fell into it, craved it. He realised immediately the effect he had on me, the effect he always had on me. A small coy grin pulled onto his face. It made me even angrier.

"No." I shook his hand off and continued on, "Why aren't you trying? Okay, it's not perfect, it's weird and twilight-zone-y but it's miles better than out there."

"Georg-" He began but once again I cut him off with my stream of consciousness.

"No. This is hard enough without you drawing back into your Daryl shell and not even giving this-"

"Ya gonna let me talk?" He barked.

"No! I'm pregnant, you doughnut! So this needs to work. This place, you need to try! My heart's going about a thousand miles an hour and I can't think straight and I wanna vomit all over you right now, and you've done enough damage! So no, you can't speak!"

He stepped back in shock and his mouth fell open, "Wh-what?"

"Bus baby!" I spat out and spread my arms open in a wild gesture of disbelief.

He nodded and digested the information I'd just spewed out before him, he brushed his hands through his hair and they lingered on his face. I watched his eyes lighten and he uttered, "Okay."

"Okay?" I stumbled over the word and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright." He uttered and scratched his head. I held my gaze on his eyes, waiting. Waiting. No words were passed. All of this panic, and turmoil I'd endured and…OKAY?

"That's it?" I shouted back.

"What do you want?" He asked, calmly.

"What do you want?!" I asked, still loudly, but this time shakily.

"I want what you want." He uttered, plainly, "I want you."

My arms fell to my sides in defeat and I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration for a moment. I resigned and sighed, caught by his eyes once more, "Kiss me."

A small grin crooked across his face as he stepped towards me, our eyes locked together. He raised both hands up to my face and guided my lips towards his. The overwhelming feeling of release rippled throughout my entire body, and the outside world fell away. His hands wandered down my body, until one planted itself firmly against the wall behind us and he thrust his body against mine. He kissed me passionately, exactly how I wanted him to, picked me up with one arm and felt my hands drape around his neck. He lifted me up powerfully with the other arm and carried me upstairs to the bedroom.

In a speed to match his kisses, he lowered me down on to the bed. He wrestled himself out of his pants before coming down on top of me. I rolled the man over in response and nestled myself on top of him. I pulled him up by the shirt and kissed him passionately as I removed it. A feeling erupted from deep within me; my mind raced at lightning speed, overpowered by the simple fact, I needed him. I needed him right now. His hands planted down on my thighs, pushing my dress up further exposing my legs. I ripped off his shirt as he readjusted my position atop of him and impatiently moved my underwear to the side. It all happened so quickly, in amongst the passion, the clothes ripping, the straps falling down. We were there. Within his embrace, his firm, fevered touch, once again I felt safe and ready to accept him. As he thrust himself inside me, I unleashed a powerful moan of pleasure. The man was granted only a few more thrusts before I took over. I pushed him back flat to the ground and took control. He was never one to be dominated, eventually I relented and let him have his way with me. He was doing things to me I had never felt before, everything paled in comparison to this feeling, this rhythm, this connection.

* * *

"How long have you known?" Daryl stroked my hair as I lay upon his chest. One arm wrapped up in my hair, the other wrapped around my waist pulling me close to him.

"I missed the signs when we out there…I thought it was just from the exhaustion." I sighed, feeling so relaxed in his arms, "When the cupcake lady presented me with that massive box of tampons, I kinda freaked out…and stole a test."

Daryl laughed and kissed my forehead, "If this is gonna work, then this place has to work."

I nodded in agreement, without Alexandria…there was no chance for us…for the baby.

"Aaron asked me to be the recruiter for this place, instead of Eric." Daryl drawled, "I spent the day with him, had dinner with him, that's why I weren't at the party. He's a good guy. He's been buildin' a bike, gave it to me, to finish. Says I know a good person from a bad person. I ain't built for this lifestyle, dinner parties, small talk, pasta makers. But that's alright, I got my job. I got my part now."

"So we're doing this?" I asked, barely audibly, as a smile spread across my face.

Daryl nodded and a genuine smile spread across his face, "Yeah. We're doing this. We're building something here, for our kid."

I paused for a moment before nodding, "He's right. You're a good judge of character." I bit my lip and uttered, "I know you can handle yourself. I'm just scared."

Daryl stopped stroking my hair and rolled over so that he was perched over me. He lowered himself down and kissed me gently, looked me straight in the eyes and whispered, "It's gonna be fine. We're gonna be fine. Our baby's gonna be fine."

* * *

I awoke the next morning to an empty bed. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach, he was gone. I rushed into my jeans and threw a loose vest over my head before glancing into the other bedrooms and eventually staggering down the stairs. The house was empty but clattering plates could be heard in the kitchen.

"Morning, Sunshine!" Maggie smiled up at me, "Come get your eggs. Daryl said to let you sleep in; even Judy complied. You coulda got away with at least another hour or two."

I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and glanced over at the clock on the oven, it was just after 8am.

"Where is he?" I uttered, clearing my throat.

"Rick took him somewhere, I'm not really sure. Grab some eggs, there's plenty." Maggie smiled, "I'm meeting Deanna at 9, we're assembling watch rotas, co-ordinating runs, etc., you're more than welcome to come. She's been asking after you, making sure you're settling-Georgia? Hello?"

I shook my head and stared back at Maggie, "Sorry, what?"

"You hear a word I said?" She placed her hands on her hips, and sighed.

"Maggie." My eyes fell to the floor.

"Is it Pete? Yeah, he's a bit of a douche. Maybe we can work something out, I wouldn't want to work with him either. He's got the personality of a mop. You notice the way he says stuff? Like there's always this other meaning, it's weird." She snickered and took a sip of her coffee.

"I'm pregnant." I blurted out, awkwardly, with a slight shrug in my shoulders as scrunched up my body, awaiting the impact.

Maggie spurted a little coffee back into her cup and plopped it down on the counter. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open, "Oh my god." She embraced me tightly, pulling me out of my seat. She laughed along and chuckled, "Wow! Really? When did-what-how?"

She pulled the chair out next to me and settled in. I smiled lightly, "I'm only 6 or 7 weeks along. So please, keep this to just us, just now. I'll tell everyone in good time."

"Does Daryl know?"

"I told him last night, I got spooked when he was gone this morning."

"Oh, he's here somewhere, don't worry. How're you feeling? Oh, this is so exciting." Maggie beamed and squeezed my leg.

"A little nauseous, nothing against your eggs, but I think I'll pass-" I laughed. We were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and Daryl eventually appearing in the door way. Maggie attempted to stifle her smile but gave in after two seconds and embraced Daryl, congratulating him.

"Thanks." Daryl drawled. Maggie excused herself and reminded me to catch up with her later at Deanna's. I nodded and Daryl made his way over to me.

"Hey. Thought I'd be back before you woke." He rasped and kissed me lightly.

"Where d'ya go?" I asked.

"Carol got the guns." He drawled and caressed my cheek as I turned away from him. He raised his hands up in surrender, "I didn't take one. Frisk me."

I snorted, "As tempting as that is, I believe you."

"I been thinking; we don't need 'em. If things go bad, sure, yeah, we do what we gotta do. But in here, with these people, we don't need 'em."

I nodded and contemplating taking a bite of the eggs before me but my nose scrunched up in disgust.

"Who else knows?" Daryl asked.

"Maggie. Oh, and Abraham." I informed him.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What? He's my friend?" I raised one back at him, "And I kinda spat his beer out a bit, a little on him."

"Alright, so we can tell people?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, I think we need it." I pushed the eggs away from me and turned to face him again, "Our group needs it."

"Good, 'cause I told 'em, Rick and Carol." Daryl rasped quickly.

I stared back at him in disbelief. Daryl shrugged his shoulders and smiled, "Sorry."

Hannah trundled through the front door, panting, "Okay, I know this is totally last minute and all, but it's pretty much bring your mom to work day at school, I know, I know, totally insensitive, right? But I thought I'd ask you anyway, saving lives is a legit excuse to bail, and a cool one! But you know, maybe you could-"

"I'd love to. And I will, but come here a second, Banana." I smiled, "There's something we wanna tell you."


	62. Season 5: 14: Spend

Another few days had passed by without relative note. Our group continued in their efforts to settle in and establish their place within Alexandria. I was seven weeks pregnant and feeling okay, over all. I had organised a little room of my own in the townhouse which served as the town's general practice. I'd seen a few patients that morning; an assortment of mostly overzealous moms and their mundane rashes, in-depth discussions regarding birth control options and finally their worries over low libidos. It was pretty boring until Jessie rocked up.

"Hey, um, I wanted to let you know, Pete is not feeling very well today." Jessie poked her head into my office, she had Sam in tow, who was sporting a gnarly black eye.

"Whoa, champ." I rose from my seat and wandered over to the door, "You been scrapping?"

"He was playing baseball with his brother. It was an accident." Jessie uttered authoritatively as she turned Sam and ushered him to head out, "Please. We're sorry to disrupt you. And about Pete's absence."

"No apologies required." I picked up my cardigan and returned to her in the doorway, "My afternoon is free, let me walk you out."

"Oh that's not necessary." Jessie laughed awkwardly and smiled in a manner that made me a little uneasy. What the heck…

"Do you…want me to hang back and not leave my office until you do?" I glanced back at her as I wrestled into the sleeves of my cardigan, "Am I missing something-"

"No. I'm sorry. I thought you were-just because-but you're heading out anyway? Yeah! Yeah." Jessie flapped her arms about and we walked down the hallway and out the front door in palpable awkwardness.

"Are you going to Nancy's brunch?" Jessie tucked a loose hair behind her ear and looked me in the eye once more.

"I was gonna stop by. I promised Olivia I would." I smiled and squinted a little in the morning sun.

"Could you pass on our apologies. I should really stick with Sam today." Jessie smiled and I uttered a sceptical, 'sure'. She bid me a good day before guiding her son back home. I stood watching them both scamper off for a little while, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Baseball, my ass.

* * *

The rest of my day happened to be free so after sticking my head in on Nancy's brunch and losing a few IQ points, I got to see Daryl off on his bike's maiden voyage. We'd spent the last few nights having dinner at Aaron and Eric's place, just hanging out, listening to music, swapping war stories, fixing the bike. It was honestly really nice and just easy. Aaron's kind words of respect for Daryl calmed my worries about him being out there.

Daryl nestled himself on to the bike and gestured back to Aaron in his car. It was time to move out.

"You don't have to say it." He drawled.

"I know. I'm still gonna." I smiled and kissed him. As I broke away, he pulled me back in for an even more impassioned kiss that caught me a little off guard, I smiled down at him, "Be careful."

He scoffed and I backed up, wrapping my arms around my own waist in comfort. He looked back one last time and drawled, "Got every reason to be." I watched the two men drive out of the community and slid the gate shut after them. Okay, that was one send-off down.

Glenn waved me over to the van he was loading up with a goofy grin plastered across his face. He clearly couldn't stand the leisurely pace I was taking so met me a few steps beforehand and embraced me tightly.

"Oh." I laughed, "So, you know."

Glenn grinned as we pulled apart and uttered, "Yeah. Maggie couldn't keep it in any longer. I think it's awesome! You know, we'd been talking about starting a family ourselves. I think now's definitely the time."

Eugene appeared out of nowhere and uttered, monotonously, clutching a random piece of electronics to his chest, "Congratulations on the conception of your child. He or she is sure to turn out super tough and super smart and super-hot. They'll have won the genetic lottery, as it were."

The entire supply run group now just stared back at Eugene, in complete bemusement.

"…thank you?" I uttered, uncertainly, and brushed his arm.

Tara brushed my arm, and laughed, "Abraham let it slip at the party after another brewski or well, five, sorry. But congrats!"

I shook my head, "You know what, it's alright. Thank you. It's um, still really early though so I really want to try to keep it just to us, to our group."

Tara nodded and hollered, "You hear that Eugene, shut your trap."

Noah scoffed, "He doesn't really talk to anyone else from here, you don't have to worry. And uh, I was gonna say, I met with Reg this morning. He's gonna teach me how to build things, work further on the walls, expand out. So, this place, it's gonna be okay. We can pass on what we know. Maybe you could do the same as Reg? Beth said she learnt a lot from you."

I smiled kindly at Noah and squeezed his hand, "Yeah. I think I will."

Noah nodded and turned to offer Eugene a gun, he shook his head and vehemently rejected it.

"Eugene, you have to protect yourself." I tried to reason with the man.

"Not if I don't go." Eugene shook his head and stared back as if my words were utterly ludicrous, "You don't have to go. You play the preggo card. I play the coward card."

"We're not driving all that way so we can just drive back with the wrong shit." Aiden appeared out from the side of the van, I panicked and wondered how much he'd heard.

"It's a dozen of these." Eugene scoffed and held up the component in his hands, "They are consistent in appearance across manufacturers. The shit will be right. I will install said shit. Then the grid will be fully operational again."

Aiden wandered off, mid-speech, laughing to himself. He was such an ass. The power in Alexandria had been periodically going down, so the group was planning on picking up spare parts from a nearby warehouse. Noah slapped the gun into his hands and sauntered off, leaving Eugene looking thoroughly puzzled. I caressed Eugene's arm in support and smiled warmly at him.

"You kids have everything?" Reg also emerged from around the side of the van, speaking with his son. Oh dear lord, did he hear too?

"First-aid kits, yellow pages, Glenn make a checklist. We're good, I swear." Aiden smiled to his dad.

"I know, I'm a worrier." Reg embraced his son, "That's how that wall wound up around us."

"Take care, pops." Aiden slugged his dad on the shoulder and wandered back over my way.

"I'm supposed to say that to you." Reg called after him and turned to speak with Glenn.

"So who's the lucky guy? GI Joe?" Aiden snorted, "Spencer's gonna be so bummed, please let me be the one to tell him."

I raised an eyebrow in response.

"You and I, we got off on the wrong foot. One of us was a little cold, couldn't take a joke. One of us tried to defuse the situation with a little humour." Aiden joked.

"You're an ass." I scoffed.

"I officially retire from hitting on you. Okay? I give up." Aiden raised his hands in mocking defeat, and nodded over to Eugene, "Is it his?"

I slapped the man in the arm and he clambered into the van, laughing to himself. Aiden wasn't a bad guy. He was a total ass and a spoiled brat. But not a bad truly never know when you're experiencing your last encounter with someone.

* * *

After spending a few hours working, I'd met Rick in the street who informed me that Michonne was back at the house, he was just about to swap shifts with her. It was the perfect time. I stepped into the house with purpose and called out for her.

"Hey, Georgia. You alright? Haven't seen you much since that party." She took a swig of orange juice and poured me a glass. I looked into it for a moment before smiling up at her.

"Yeah. Listen, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. And seeing as how news spreads like wildfire in this town, I thought I'd come straight over." I started and a small smile spread across my face and spread across Rick's too.

"Tell her." Rick took a swig and nodded. Michonne's expression was light and more than ready.

"Hey Rick, thought I'd bring you a beer for helping out my wife today!" Pete snickered and stumbled through our front door with minimal grace, fabulously timed, "Hey, and the lady doc who doesn't want to doc. And Mrs Police Force. What a crew." He was obviously wasted, and a quick glance at the clock concluded his fast work, it was just after 4pm. Baseball...my ass. Well...this ass, actually.

"Um, I'm good, but thanks." Rick drawled.

"Come on, don't tell me you're still on duty. You're doing a swapsy?" Pete extended the beer out to Rick who didn't even flinch.

"Kind of always am, you know?" Rick shrugged his shoulders, politely.

"Don't worry, I won't offer you one." Pete winked at me and then snorted to Rick, "You weren't on at Deanna's party. I saw you. You had some, right?" Goddammit, how did he know about this? Maybe Reg had heard me after all?

"You know; I wish I could have helped out more today." Rick moved the conversation along, politely, but still visibly tense at the intruder, "I asked around, but nobody saw or heard anything."

"Well, it was just an owl." Pete lowered the beer, finally and scoffed, "Grand scheme of things, I think we'll live."

"Yeah." Rick drawled.

"I think it was important to your wife." I uttered, staring coldly back at the man.

"I'm sorry." Pete ignored my comment and turned to Rick, "Heard you lost your wife."

Rick nodded, a flicker of heat flashed in his eyes. I grew antsy at this look and noticed Michonne watching Rick like a hawk. I wanted to call him out right then and there: I thought you were sick today, Pete? Hair of the dog, right?

"You know, I'm sure it looks like we haven't lost much, but we have." Pete whined, "We've lost things. Other things we're just fighting like hell to hold on to. Everything you people have been through, I don't know if you see that."

"We do." Michonne answered for Rick abruptly.

"Bring your kids in for a check-up. I know I offered you one, but they really should come in. They were out there a while, right?" Pete swayed in his words. Yes, we'll definitely send the children along to the drunk doctor, pronto.

"Yeah. Thanks, Pete." Rick nodded and glanced over at the door, not-so-subtly.

"Let's be friends, man." Pete stepped into Rick's grill and he recoiled a smidge at the beer breath in his face, "We kinda have to be, right?"

"Yeah, we do." Rick drawled.

"So we will." Pete shook his hand, strongly, and slapped him on the shoulder as he stumbled out, "I'll see you, Rick, Lady Rick. See you, Jessie, I mean, ha-ha, Georgia, I'll see you bright and early!"

As he slammed the door after him, Rick followed up to the door and watched him for a moment, stumbling down the street. Michonne still watched over Rick's intentions, waiting for the slightest flinch.

"What the hell was that?" I raised an eyebrow to Rick, "Some feeble alpha male play?"

"What was that beer comment about?" Michonne turned to face me.

Damn, she was perceptive. My shoulders fell and I uttered, "I didn't want that sideshow to be the opener to this…but well…"

"Georgia-" Her voice wavered at the end.

I nodded as my eyes filled with tears.

An elated grin expanded across her face as her hand raised to her mouth. She smiled and turned to Rick who nodded in response. We laughed. She embraced me tightly, "Are you serious?" I nodded within her arms, feeling them hold me tighter, "You knew about this?"

"Daryl told me, he thought I'd slug him one or something." Rick scoffed. I smiled and patted a hand on his chest, he gripped my hand and squeezed it tight. I had wanted the moment myself, to be the one to share this joyous, terrifying, once in a lifetime moment with the man I considered my brother. But I knew, that Daryl needed it too.

"Never." Michonne shook her head, "You two have come so far, grown together."

"The way he cares for you, that's the kind of love I always wanted for you." His voice dipped to a genuine, serious tone, "Man's like my own brother. I know him. He'll be a 'til-the-ends-of-the-earth father. And you." His voice wavered a little but he cleared his throat, "The way you've taken on Hannah, the way you care for my kids like they're your own, that damn big heart of yours. That's gonna be one lucky kid."

I embraced the man tightly and we stood there for moments more, swept up in the emotion. Standing between Michonne and Rick's excitement and joy and love, it was overwhelming, it was just what I needed. Carl and Hannah appeared at the house not long after and we told Carl the news; he was elated, she was relieved she could spill the beans, finally. We spent time together, preparing dinner, playing with Judith and suggesting baby names.

"Harley Dixon?" Carl laughed, "It kinda has a ring to it."

"Middle name, Davidson?" Rick snorted at his son.

"Do all these suggestions have to be cartoon redneck names?" I laughed as we tucked into our dinner. Harley Davidson, Betty Sue, Jim Beam, Martha-Mae, I shuddered for the poor child.

"I don't see Daryl agreeing with Lawrence or Bernard!" Michonne chuckled with a posh accent as she passed over the sauce. Okay, she had a point, I foresaw a lot of vetoes were in our future.

"I hope it's a girl!" Hannah smiled as she scoffed her dinner.

"Nah, us guys are getting outnumbered here, time for another boy." Carl chuckled as he helped his baby sister with her dinner.

An abrupt knock at the door, followed by it swinging open rashly, broke our conversation. For goodness sake; at least this person knocks. Carol burst into the kitchen clearly carrying a hefty metaphorical weight on her shoulders. She apologised for the interruption and asked that Rick and I convene in the living room.

"Pete's hitting Jessie." She panted as she closed the door behind us, "Maybe Sam too."

"You know this how?" Rick flinched, then paused before drawling, "Sam tell you?"

"He didn't have to." She sighed in distress.

I exhaled, "Rick. She came by today, told me Pete was sick, which he clearly was not. And she said Sam's black eye was from playing baseball."

Carol scoffed, "Sam told me this morning he got it messing around with a slingshot."

Oh great. They can't even get their lies consistent. Rick grew exceptionally frustrated, and turned away from us to face the window, breathing heavily.

"Rick." Carol uttered, "I know how this is gonna go with Pete. There's only one way it can go."

Rick exhaled slowly and turned to face her.

"You're gonna have to kill him." Carol uttered nonchalantly. I snapped my neck to face her, in disbelief of what she'd just said. Okay, that clearly was why she didn't ask Michonne to join us. As I made a motion to object, headlights shone through the window, it was charging up the road at an alarming rate. The three of us dropped our discussion and charged outside into the street.

"HELP! I NEED HELP!" Glenn's voice echoed from where the van had skidded to a halt, outside the practice, "GEORGIA! GEORGIA! WHERE IS SHE?!"


	63. Season 5: 15: Try

"Glenn!" I shouted as we all ran towards him. He was covered in blood and carrying Tara, her head was gushing. "Get her inside, right now!"

Rick squared up to Nicholas, barking, "What the hell happened?"

Carol ran through the assembled group, shouting, "Eugene. Where's Noah? Aiden?"

Glenn dumped Tara down on one of the beds as I briskly washed my hands and ordered him to bring the lamp over here. I pinged on my gloves, grabbed the tray of instruments and dragged it over. I peeled away the dirty, blood-soaked shirt that had been wrapped around her head and assessed the damage. I took a sharp intake of breath and began rushing through the steps. Every time shit hits the fan in here, within the confines of a medical trauma, I can't even explain what happens to me. Everything slows down. I cut out the noise; everything irrelevant, blocked out, gone. It's go time. It's a crystal clear blur of a dance. I thrive on it.

"She's gonna be alright?" Glenn uttered, in shock, "She's gonna be okay, right George? I can't lose anyone else tonight. No one else. Not Tara."

"Glenn." I raised a hand up to him, and bore my eyes straight into his, "Hand me the saline. I will do my damn best."

Glenn nodded, panicked and picked up the nearest bottle.

"The one next to that." I spoke clearly and calmly, "Tell me exactly what happened. Everything. What did she hit her head on?"

"I told him to stop firing. Aiden. He hit a grenade on an armoured walker. It blew us all into the air. He got impaled on one of those pitch fork pallet lifter things." Glenn uttered darkly.

I winced at the words that he imparted with, freezing for a moment at the picture they painted, "He…he died there?"

"Not instantly." Glenn shook his head. Oh my god, a wave of nausea rippled through me.

"Tara, Glenn. What uh, happened to her?" I asked clearly.

"She flew through the air, must have landed head first." Glenn rubbed his hands through his hair, still shaking from the whole experience. His eyes were red, he was distraught.

"Okay. She hit the floor." I uttered and began clearing out the wound, "Shit. GCS is 6…pupils are fixed…" I turned her head slightly and saw the blood dripping out of her left ear. "Subdural Hematoma, shit. Glenn, hand me the drill."

"Wh-what?" Glenn uttered with wide eyes, shakily finding his feet.

Rosita burst into the room, after one swift look at Tara, she engaged and barked, "Georgia, what do you need?"

"Pass me the drill." I uttered as I made a small incision on Tara's left temple.

"What the hell are you doing in my practice?!" Pete's voice bellowed from the doorway, "Get off of me, I'm the doctor! What are you all doing in here?!" Great, just what I needed. A back-seat drunken surgeon undermining me. NO.

"GLENN. KEEP HIM OUT OF HERE. He's blind drunk!" I barked and took the drill from Rosita's hands, "You hold her head, here firm, hold it there, to stop that superficial bleeding and you do not move a muscle. When I say, douse the area with the saline wash, okay? Do not freak out. She won't feel it."

"I won't. I'm good." Rosita bore her eyes into mine with unwavering strength.

I began drilling the small hole into Tara's skull to relieve the pressure, instantly blood gushed out from the hole and I exhaled sharply as I chucked the drill onto the side and inserted the clearance tube, "Oh thank god, okay, go for it, you can soak the area, don't be frugal."

I smiled and breathed out in relief as I carefully removed the last fragments and took a closer inspection, "It's okay, it's not subdural, extradural evacuation, that's okay. That's textbook."

"Drilling into skulls is textbook?" Rosita raised an eyebrow.

"No." I shook my head, "That was shit-the-bed terrifying. But extradural is easier to deal with."

Rosita stood by my side and assisted me into the night as we worked on Tara. She was pretty doped up on drugs for the most part but at one particular moment, she squeezed Rosita's hand lightly and groaned before slipping back out of it. After I was satisfied we'd done all we could do, and her wounds were cleanly bandaged, it was time to address the waiting room. I pinged my latex gloves into the waste basket and washed the blood off of my arms.

"We have to keep a close eye on her. But…I'm confident she'll be okay." I announced to the entire group that had squashed itself into the waiting room. Glenn sighed in relief and embraced Maggie tightly at the news. The room was buzzing with relief but a darker tone still simmered throughout.

"Did you really drill a hole in her head?" Maggie scrunched up her face in disbelief.

"Doc, that's gnarly." Abraham scoffed as he punched my arm.

"Her brain was bleeding and that blood had nowhere to go, so yes, we made a path for it." I explained, "She's gonna be down for the count for a while, she'll need monitoring for any further bleeding or swelling." I swayed a little, feeling light headed and nauseous. I was taken a little aback by my own body, I'd never gotten queasy before in surgery…and then I remembered. Everything I'd cut out in the moment was seeping back in.

"I will stay with her." Rosita offered.

"Are you sure?" I asked with a hand clasped subtly to my chin, close enough to my mouth, just in case.

"Yeah." Rosita smiled warmly and nodded over to Glenn and Eugene who were visibly distraught, "I think…I think the others need you more right now. Just tell me what to look out for."

I explained everything to Rosita and Abraham offered to stay the night with her. Our group assembled in the living room of our house to digest what had happened and to console one another. Sasha had stormed up to the guard tower to be alone. Glenn recounted the tale in detail to Rick and I outside on the deck. He saw the grenades. He tried to stop Aiden. It blew. Nicholas was gonna run. But they made him stay. Couldn't get Aiden out of there without help. All he had to do was hold the door open. But he panicked. Noah…Glenn had him. He had his hand. He had watched Noah die…right in front of him. He was trapped. He had to watch him get ripped apart.

"I tried…" Glenn uttered, with great effort, "I watched him die."

Rick's eyes flickered back and forth between Glenn's shaken distress and my sunken eyes. It was the stuff of nightmares. Everything we'd seen so far…I couldn't imagine that…I wouldn't.

"I almost left him out there." Glenn uttered, "Could have told a story. What, you think I should have?"

"They don't know what they're doing." I shook my head. This was terrifying. I knew Rick's answer immediately but instead he added to my sentiment, almost inaudibly, "Any of them."

"We'll show them." Glenn pleaded. I couldn't understand his decency. Noah was ripped to shreds before his very eyes and he was strong enough not to return the favour and rip Nicholas to pieces.

"I don't know if they can see it." Rick shook his head, "How things really are. I don't know if they can yet. They haven't caught up."

"I don't know. Now they've lost Aiden…" I uttered, "Like this. It could shake them up? It has to."

"It won't." Rick drawled, "They'll blame us. He died because we're in the picture now."

I shuddered at the thought. Rick's logic made sense, but…would they really think that? We lost one of our own too, and Tara was just hanging on, it wasn't like we lead them out to the slaughter. Nicholas was at fault. Aiden didn't listen. Their actions led to our hurt. Would they really see it that way?

"We have to be here. We have to." Glenn pleaded with desperate eyes.

"Yeah, we do." Rick drawled, his eyes lowered, his voice deepened, "But their rules, we don't answer to them."

"We are them, Rick. We are now." Glenn implored, searching both our faces desperately, feeling he was losing me too, "Noah, he believed in this place. I'm telling you, we gotta make this work."

Rick shook his head and sauntered off alone.

"Georgia." Glenn sighed, "You of all people-"

"He tossed him to the walkers, Glenn." My voice wavered as determined tears streamed down my cheek, "He killed Noah. Our Noah. People like Nicholas should be dead."

"He panicked." Glenn shook his head, but his quiet voice suggested even he didn't believe his words.

I shook mine in response and wiped my cheek with my sleeve, "Exactly. We don't do that. How many people have to die for them to get it? Will they ever get it?"

* * *

Another morning rose in paradise, but the shift was visible, everyone was broken. Rosita and Michonne rushed out the gates to find Sasha, she'd gone out on a walker-killing rampage in response to Noah's death. She'd gotten closer to Noah, after her brother's death and now…she'd told Noah that he wouldn't survive and harboured debilitating guilt.

Rick confronted Deanna about Pete; he learned that Deanna knew, she was protecting Pete because of his medical skills. It was true, and more importantly, no one was doing a thing about it. He suggested they separate Jessie and Pete, and if that didn't work, they kill him. Deanna shut him down, she was inconsolable after the death of her son, she barked that we don't kill people, this was civilisation.

Rick's demeanour was becoming more unhinged and more unstable. Noah was dead. Tara was hanging on for dear life. Glenn had almost died. The leaders were butting heads big time. I was worried. Daryl and Aaron still hadn't returned. I felt an overwhelming need for him to reappear, to be the stability to Rick's shaken core.

I spent the day glued to the practice, taking care of Tara. I was exhausted. Pete had still yet to make an appearance, despite him being the most valuable asset to this community.

His whereabouts became abundantly clear at the sound of shattered windows and a screaming crowd. Carol and I exchanged one look with each other before bursting outside. Rick and Pete had smashed through a window, brawling, and crashed into the street. Sam ran over to Carol and hid behind her legs. The men were pummelling each other brutally as the horrified crowd gathered and screamed at them to stop. Jessie attempted to pull her husband back but was smacked in the face. Carl snatched his dad's arm but was shoved back off his feet. The men were covered in blood.

"RICK!" I bellowed out. There was no way I could intervene in this.

"Oh, god!" Jessie bawled, "Please, please stop!"

"STOP IT!" Deanna ran up to them both, "Stop it right now!"

"You touch them again and I will kill you." Rick seethed in Pete's face as he held him in a choke hold.

"Damn it, Rick!" Deanna bellowed, "I said stop."

"Or what?" Rick dropped Pete's limp body and brandished a gun in their face, "You gonna kick me out?"

"Put that gun down, Rick." Deanna ordered. Rick waved it about as the Alexandrians raised their hands slightly, he chuckled to himself maniacally. I glanced over at Glenn and then Michonne, their expressions matched my own.

"You still don't get it!" Rick scoffed, and raised his voice, "None of you do! We know what needs to be done and we do it. We're the ones who live. YOU! You just sit and plan and hesitate. You pretend like you know when you don't!"

Silenced gunshots could be heard plinking over the fence and snarls being silenced. Sasha was hunting them down from the guard tower above us. Oh my god, she'd been up there all this time.

"You wish things weren't what they are. Well, you want to live? You want this place to stay standing? Your way of doing things is done. Things don't get better because you-you want them to. Starting right now we have to live in the real world. We have to control who lives here."

"That's never been more clear to me than it is right now." Deanna seethed and folded her arms tightly across her chest.

"Me? Me?" Rick laughed and pointed the gun towards himself, "You mean me? Your way is gonna destroy this place. It's gonna get people killed. It's already gotten people killed. And I'm not gonna stand by and just let it happen. If you don't fight, you die! I'm not gonna stand by-"

Michonne smacked Rick in the back of the head and he fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Everyone turned in shock, watching her pick up his gun, and glare down at the unconscious man at her feet.


	64. Season 5: 16: Conquer

I tended to the cuts all over Rick's face and stitched up his bloody hands before reluctantly doing the same for Pete. At least I could work quietly on the KO'd men, that was something. Michonne kept an unwavering eye on Rick all night, locked away from the community. Everything about her demeanour told me that he was in for a rough ride when he finally awoke. I did not envy his position, and worried relentlessly over the wider repercussions for us all. I took Carl and Hannah home and slept at the practice watching over Tara. My body was just as exhausted as my mind.

I awoke the next morning to Glenn shaking my arm, "Hey. We're gonna go see him." My blurry eyes fell upon him and Carol and Abraham standing over me. I cricked my neck and nodded, clawing my way out of the terribly uncomfortable chair I'd somehow managed to sleep in.

We made our way over to the unfinished house that Michonne had held him in. The four of us stepped inside and our eyes fell upon the battered Rick, propped up against the wall. The night's rest had not done him any favours; he looked like veritable shit. Michonne sat, dominantly looking down upon him.

"Where'd you get the gun?" Michonne asked.

"You took it, right?" Carol chipped in, "From the armoury? That was stupid. Why did you do it?"

My gaze didn't waver from him as Carol's lies poured out perfectly. I think I was building up tolerance to her bullshit. Rick sighed, glaring back at her, "Just in case."

"Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight." Glenn informed us, "For anyone who wants to."

"To kick Rick out?" Abraham drawled from the doorway.

"To try." Carol scoffed.

Glenn shook his head, "We don't know that. Maggie's with Deanna right now. She's gonna find out what it is."

"At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them too. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here." Carol rattled off.

"Why?" Michonne raised her eyebrow.

"Because these people are children and children like stories." Carol uttered.

"What happens after all the nice words and they still try to kick him out?" Abraham uttered the worst case scenario.

"They're guarding the armoury now." Glenn uttered as our minds began to race.

"We still have knives." Carol shook her head nonchalantly, "That's all we'll need against them."

"Well, tonight, at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle." Rick uttered, "Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, Michonne grab Reg, Glenn and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd. Georgia I don't want you in this one. They know about the baby, they could use that, you stay the hell back."

"We can talk to them." Michonne hissed.

"Yeah, we will." Rick barked.

"What, and we take one out to show we mean business?" I scoffed in disbelief.

"If we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."

"Rick." I lowered my voice, my eyes piercing into his, "I was joking."

"Like at Terminus?" Glenn uttered darkly. The atmosphere in the room grew more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"No." Rick shook his head, "We just tell 'em. They give us the armoury and it's over."

"Did you want this?" Glenn asked in a defeated tone. I didn't blame him for wandering. Was he waiting for this? Was this easier to him?

"No. I hit my limit." Rick drawled, and rolled onto his side, "I-I screwed up. And here we are. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna sleep some more."

Carol took me aside as the others wandered off, "Thank you for going along with that."

I watched Glenn wander up the road with his hands in his pockets, lost in thought. I wanted to chase him down; I wanted to make it better for him. Whilst my heart had gradually been chipped away, Glenn stood constant. He believed in people. He believed in us.

"I was thinking, playing the baby card would soften the saps." Carol uttered, "They won't throw out a father with his children, or condemn the woman carrying his child."

I snapped to face her and shook my head, "Carol. No. I'm not lying any more. I'm fixing what I can fix. Damage control." I set off, now seething, at the mess we'd found ourselves in. I wanted to shake everyone in this damn community.

* * *

I grabbed the undercover casserole and chapped on the door of Pete's new house repeatedly before he eventually made an appearance. The curtains were drawn across every window, but I knew he'd be hiding inside. He looked incredibly dishevelled, his eyes were dark. I pushed past him and stood in his hallway. The house was plunged into darkness; it was a mess.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Pete scorned and spat at me.

"You need to check on Tara. You are a surgeon. You need to do that. I haven't slept in god knows how long, you need to pull your weight." I informed him.

"Get out!" He barked.

"I could kill you right now." I pulled the knife out from under my dress and held it up to his throat, pinning him against the stairs "I could. We both know where to hit, and I can make it messy. No one would believe the sweet pregnant Georgia peach killed the wife-beater just because she didn't really like him all that much."

Pete trembled from beneath my knife; it was a rush. I held it there solidly as I spoke, scorching my eyes deep into his, "They'd believe you'd tried to hurt me. They'd definitely believe that. Come at me." I stepped back and read every inch of his movements, revelling in his squirms, "No? Yeah?" He flinched, hesitated before merely continuing to tremble before me in silence. It was a distinct mix of hatred and fear. I scoffed, "No. The way this has played out, you still have a chance. You're here. Your wife's there. You're a small, weak nothing and with the world how it is, you're even weaker." I glared upwards at the man who towered above me, only in stature, "Play your cards right, maybe you don't have to die. Redemption's available for you, Dr Anderson, take it. Work for it. Oh, and Carol wants this dish back clean when you're done." I shoved the dish into his hands and holstered my knife back under my skirt leaving the pathetic man behind me.

As soon as I heard the glass dish shatter from inside the house, I stopped dead on the steps of his house and changed course towards the practice. Evidently, Pete was not coming in today.

* * *

I found Eugene snoring beside Tara and Rosita keeping herself busy.

"He's not coming?" Rosita asked, raising her eyes from her work briefly.

I shook my head, "No. I told him how it was. One more night of no sleep won't kill us."

"You can rest, you know." Rosita uttered quietly, "We need to take care of you too."

"I'm fine." I yawned and pulled myself up onto the counter, picking up where I'd left off in my textbook. I still had so much to learn, a part of me personally regretted fixating on a trauma speciality so early on. Yes, it is the most useful these days, but even one rotation in OB-GYN would have done wonders.

Abraham entered the room not long after me but turned around the second he spotted the sleeping Eugene. This had gone on long enough, and seeing as how I'd assigned myself the task of cleaning up everyone's shit, I too joined Rosita in pleading with him to stay put.

"I'll come back later." Abraham awkwardly shook his head and turned back on himself.

Rosita stopped him, pointing out that Eugene was indeed asleep, he could at least sit with her a while. Abraham sat down at Tara's bedside and I gave Rosita a devilish grin. I deliberately knocked a bedpan off the counter, sending it clattering to the ground. Everyone jumped, startled at the sudden racket.

"Oops." I uttered nonchalantly and returned to my book.

Eugene turned his head towards Abraham and greeted him with a deadpan, "Good afternoon."

Abraham exhaled lengthily, repositioning himself in his chair after sending a heated scowl my way. I chuckled at the pair without raising my eyes, listening with bated breath to their forced encounter.

"She saved my life." Eugene uttered, "She also cracked open my gourd to considering implications I hadn't. I will remark about those at this time. You got us here. All I did was craft a top-shelf lie to which a person with strength and heroism could apply their talents. My bet was you needed that. I thank you. And I am sorry. And I mean both emphatically and in equal measure." I raised my eyes to see Eugene's pained expression and Abraham's cold steely eyes. It took a few seconds of thought, which felt like minutes passing. Abraham eventually grunted out, "I'm…sorry, too."

"Utterly and completely unnecessary." Eugene babbled.

"I almost killed you." Abraham uttered, darkly.

"Yes, there's that." Eugene noted and the two men turned towards Tara once again. Rosita brushed my arm and squeezed it, nodding in appreciation. Worst case scenario, I'd set the solution to one problem in motion today.

* * *

The day passed us by excruciatingly slowly. I couldn't shake this horrendous, stifling feeling that something bad was going down tonight. This night was going to stick in our memories, it was going to set us down one of two paths.

It was time.

Deanna along with most of the Alexandrians were assembled early in her back yard, surrounding the fire pit. Maggie, Carol, Abraham, and Eugene arrived together. I arrived with Michonne who assured me that Rick was on his way. Everyone talked amongst themselves, waiting. Eric waved me over to him, he'd saved me a seat, he was sat on the edge of the group by himself.

"We're going to start." Deanna announced.

"Can we wait?" Maggie pleaded, "There's still people coming. Glenn. Rick."

"We're going to start." Deanna announced again, "It's already dark. We're gonna talk about what happened. Not the fight. Not what precipitated it. We're dealing with that. We're going to talk about one of our constables, Rick Grimes. We're going to talk about how he had a pistol he stole from the armoury, about how he pointed it at people. And we're going to talk about what he said. I was hoping he'd be here." I looked around at our group, well…this was starting off fab.

"She said he's coming." Michonne stated with hint of sass.

"I'm sure he'll be here." Carol smiled sweetly, "And I'm sure we can work this all out."

The discussion continued as we searched around for any sign of Rick coming. Our group, one by one, filled in and plead Rick's case.

"After being out there, and then not being how you were out there…" Michonne explained, "It can drive you crazy. Rick just wants his family to live. He wants all of you to live."

"Who he is-is who you're gonna be." I rose up in my seat.

"If you're lucky." Michonne added.

Carol took the word at the meeting, she explained, "Rick Grimes has saved my life over and over. There's terrifying people out there. And he rescued me from them. People like me, people like us, need people like him. I know what happened last night was scary. And I'm sure he's sorry for that. But maybe we should listen to what he was saying."

"I'm pregnant." I uttered, to mixture of emotive faces, "I'm terrified. I grew up with Rick. I trust him with my life. I would still feel safer being with him out there…than without him, cowering inside."

Abraham rose up and informed the people, "Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit out there that you people don't know shit about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit, and then some."

"My father respected Rick Grimes. Rick is a father, too. He's a man with a good heart who feels the things he does, the things he has to do. And all of us, who were together before we found this place, no matter when we found each other, we're family now. Rick started that. And you won't stop it. You can't. And you don't want to. This community, you people, that family, you want to be a part of it too."

"Before we hear from anyone else, I would like to share something in the spirit of transparency." Deanna announced, "Father Gabriel came to see me the day before yesterday and he said our new arrivals can't be trusted, that they were dangerous, that they would put themselves before this community."

My blood began to boil as the words fell from her mouth. She places her trust in the words of a coward, preaching about a lord who has forsaken us with the walking dead?!

"And not one day later, Rick seemed to demonstrate all the things Father Gabriel said. I had hoped Gabriel would be here tonight." Deanna sighed.

"I don't see him here, Deanna." Jessie spoke up from her seat, "So you're just saying what someone said. Did you tape him?"

"He's not here." Maggie uttered.

"Neither is Rick." Deanna seethed.

"Excuse me." Maggie shook her head in frustration and left the meeting.

"I just want to keep my family safe." Tobin stood up and addressed the crowd, "You know? And I don't even know what that means anymore, but if it means that we've got to get rid of-of-" The man grew silent and his eyes grew wide as he looked up towards the gate. The gathered crowd gasped at the sight of Rick, blood-stained once again, carrying a walker's corpse over his shoulder. He threw the body to the ground at their feet.

Rick, breathing heavily, surveyed every last face in the crowd, "There wasn't a guard on the gate." He panted, his eyes darting around in disbelief, "It was open."

Deanna turned to her son, in shock, Spencer assured her he'd asked Gabriel to close it. "GO!" Deanna barked at her son, who sprinted out of the back yard.

"I didn't bring it in." Rick declared to the group, "It got inside on its own. They always will-the dead and the living, because we're in here. And the ones out there, they'll hunt us, they'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how. We will show you how." He glanced around at his people before scoffing, "You know…I-I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change." He turned to speak directly to Deanna, "I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be. Luck runs out."

Footsteps interrupted Rick's train of thought. A drunken Pete stumbled into the meeting, brandishing Michonne's katana, he was spewing out angrily, "You're not one of us. You're not one of us!"

Rick held out his arm and pushed me back behind him, he was readying himself. Abraham dragged me back further behind him and took up my place to back up Rick. Reg stormed in front of Pete and held him back, begging him, "Pete, you don't want to do this!"

"Get the hell away from me, Reg!" Pete barked back in his face. He swung the blade wildly, out of control. I pulled Alexandrians by the arms, pulling them back, well out of the way.

"Pete just stop!" Reg begged him.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Pete screamed out.

"REG. REG!" Deanna called her husband back.

"Not now." Carol whispered to Rick as he slowly moved for his gun. Mere moments afterwards, as Pete pushed Reg away for the last time, the katana slid its way across Reg's throat. The man grasped at his neck, choking on the violent gush of blood that erupted from his neck. I sprinted forwards and slammed down onto my knees beside the man, knowing full well it was futile, but his massive eyes held so much fear. Abraham rugby-tackled Pete to the ground with Michonne, disarming him. Rick turned coolly to face me and I shook my head. There was nothing…nothing I could do for him. He was dead in seconds, gasping for air, choking violently as he bled out. The entire group had gasped out in horror, falling over themselves in fear, one or two of the women even fainted.

Abraham had him pinned down to the ground as Pete screamed out, over and over, "THIS IS HIM! THIS IS HIM!"

Deanna screamed out in grief as she held her dead husband in her arms. She clawed out towards me, grasping my hands, pulling them back over her husband. I grabbed her blood-soaked hand in mine and cried, "Deanna. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's over. He's gone. He's not in pain anymore." She cried her heart out, in sheer pain, but her sorrowful expression soon darkened into one of rage.

"Rick?" Her eyes rose up to the man who stood before her. Rick looked down at Deanna and she uttered the words, "Do it."

Without a moment of hesitation, he turned around and executed Pete with a single shot to the head. I fell back a little at the shot going off so close to us. The crowd cried out in horror once more, Abraham stumbled back as the resistance dropped dead under his weight.

Another voice called out from above the fevered screams, "Rick?"

I knew this voice. Rick knew this voice. Our eyes followed Rick up to the entrance of the garden, standing there was…Morgan, along with Daryl and Aaron. They'd arrived in time for the finale. Everyone exchanged stunned looks with each other. Rick and Morgan's faces fell as their eyes locked and took in the strangers that stood before them.

I didn't have time to reunite with Daryl. Rosita burst onto the scene, grabbing me to come help. Glenn had been shot, Tara had woken up. I was needed there. I glanced back at Daryl and saw him nod as I sprinted away with her. I sprinted into the practice to see Glenn embracing Tara.

"See her!" Glenn coughed, he was battered and bruised and bleeding all over, "See her, first."

"No, no!" Tara's eyes widened, "I'm fine. I feel fine!"

"Let me uh…" My mind was still spinning, "I need to, wash this…first." I scrubbed away harshly at my blood-soaked hands, my forearms were drenched in Reg's blood.

"Whose is that?" Tara uttered.

"Okay. Let me look at you, quickly." I uttered to Glenn, "Then I'll check you, Tara."

"I was out there, the walkers. I got winged by a ricochet." Glenn winced as I pulled away his shirt, exposing his wound. He'd been shot in the shoulder, luckily it had gone right through. Maggie burst into the practice and knocked over a tray of instruments to get to him. She embraced him tightly and he assured her he was alright.

"Holy shit." Eugene emerged at some point and locked eyes with Tara.

"Thank god." Tara grinned, "Nothing happened to your hair!"

"Maggie, glove up. I'll need um, some help." I turned to face Nicholas, who Rosita was now tending to, "You alright? Need me to look at anything after these two?" He shook his head and Rosita said it was all just superficial, "Maggie, can you start clearing up? It was through and through, easy fix." Maggie nodded kindly and began tending to her husband.

"Okay Doc, I'm definitely next, Eugene's freaking me out. Or at least send Noah in to protect me." Tara joked and surveyed the dropped faces throughout the room. Dammit.

* * *

"We followed a trail of hacked off limbs. A naked, disembowelled girl was tied to a tree, same "W" carved on her forehead. It had, just happened. We followed a red poncho guy. We lost him but found these trucks we thought were full of supplies. But it was a trap. Should always know this stuff is too good to be true. All of them opened, filled with walkers, most had those W's on 'em. We almost got overrun, hid in a car. We were trapped. I really thought we were gonna die in there. I thought it was my time to check out. Time to go out in a blaze of glory.

And I couldn't think of anything else but you, I wanted to be here, with you, this place I hated. I go out there, cause I feel claustrophobic in here, I was laughing, they'd surrounded the car, five or six deep. That's real tight. I got this amazing, 'nother level outta my league girl, and she's having my kid. And I'm out here, doing this shit. I lit a smoke and we kissed our ass's goodbye. We were gonna run for the fence, didn't think we'd really make it. Then your man was there. Morgan. We all got out. I asked him why. He said all life is precious. We offered to take him back with us, he said no, asked us to give him some bearings. Then I saw on his map…it was the map Abraham had left for Rick way back at the church. It said the new world's gonna need Rick Grimes. He told me who he was. This was the guy. Your guy from King County. Rick's being cautious. Holding him in the unfinished house. They'll talk in the morning; you should be there."

I sighed, with a heavy heart, "Did you see…see Reg die?"

Daryl shook his head, "No. We heard it. I saw from Deanna telling Rick to kill him. We kinda pieced together the rest."

I nodded and met his concerned eyes, "You're out there, for this place. I don't believe for one second you're dicking around out there just because these people are assholes. Sure, spending time away from them is a plus side, but it ain't the reason. I know you. I know your intent. You and Aaron, you're risking your lives to build this place up. These people…this is the beginning of their change. It doesn't get more graphic than that; if they don't change after that, then they're a damn lost cause. We're going to build something here for our children, for Maggie and Glenn's children. For Carl and Hannah and baby Judith."

Daryl nodded, "Alright, alright." and held me close to his chest as he saw my eyes begin to well up.

"Noah…he-" I uttered through the tears. Daryl stroked my hair and rasped, "I know."

"Tara woke up. She didn't know." I uttered as I pulled away and Daryl wiped a tear from my cheek.

"Is Glenn alright?" He drawled.

I nodded, "He was shot in the shoulder. Says it was a ricochet, but…" I shook my head and scoffed, "Not from that impact, that angle. No way. And the marks around it?"

Daryl groaned and reached into his back pocket, "Something good has to come outta today."

"What is this?" I asked as he handed over a large envelope.

"I'd been talking to Reg. I'm not big on words, you mighta noticed, that's yer department." He paused as I chuckled lightly. "I've gone and let you down a time or two. And you're still here. I was an ass, before all this, a deadbeat heading one way. I'm a better man now because yer making me one."

I clenched the envelope. "You've nothing to prove to me, you don't owe me anything." I felt my eyes well up and he immediately wiped a stray one away.

"I gotta kick myself every morning I wake up to you. I've been fighting this place like I said, I ain't exactly built for suburbia."

"I never asked you to score a mini-van and lawnmower, Daryl." I scoffed.

"Yer the most stubborn, determined, strong, smart, beautiful pain in the ass I've ever met. This world ain't terribly forgiving. But I have you. Ya never asked me to change. I wanted to, because I've got everything to lose now. And that scares the shit outta me. These walls may last a day, or a year. I wanna be where I should be."

"It's okay, I don't worry, I know you'll be careful out there, I'm not gonna chain you to the porch!" I protested, confused at his point.

"Oh for Christ's sake, woman! Open the damn thing." He drawled in frustration.

It was a collection of sketches for what looked like a house, with two-storeys. "I'm building that for you and the new Ass-Kicker. It's got a garage fer buildin' bikes and I'll be trailing dirt through the halls and you can yell at what a dick I am. I want to spend every moment wrapped up in yer bedsheets until you get super fat, then I want to look after ya and veto yer terrible prep-school name choices. I'm ready to step up. I'm ready to be the man you and our kid need me to be."

My hands began to shake as a tear plopped onto the page. Everything he was saying…in his own unique way…was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to me. Even if this never came to fruition, it was incredible. I swung my arms around him and we kissed passionately. He broke away to wipe away my tears, "Alright, no need to cry about it, simple no'll do." I scoffed and kissed him once more, smiling throughout the kiss. What a damn day.


End file.
